Carnival of Ohio Politics

Carnival of Ohio Politics, #171

2009-06-25T21:09:00.004-04:00

Welcome to the 171 ^st edition of the Carnival of Ohio Politics! Unfortunately, I've allowed myself to become trapped into the cursed numerology surrounding these carnivals, and the need for a number related theme. Beyond observing that 171 is a palindrome, and that Wiki tells me that in the 2000 census Belmore Ohio had 171 residents, there's not a lot of stuff related to 171. Well, there probably is, but on this topic I'm facing the kind of writer's block that the Bad Hemingway Contest people would call “The White Bull that is a Monitor with No Words on It”.

Had I given this a bit more advance thought, I'd have stipulated that all entries must contain a palindrome in the title. Would have cut down the editorial work substantially.

Next time up, I'm goin' off the reservation – probably something like an “As Seen on TV” edition. Don't say you weren't warned.

But now on to this week's jambalaya of Ohio bloggy goodness.

The Machiavellian from The Virtuous Republic is searching for one of those federal stimulus jobs in Ohio, and that's exactly what he found. Maybe Diogenes could do better, but I doubt it.

Daniel at Buckeye RINO wants to c lean up county government, and not just in Cuyahoga county by shifting the election cycle to odd years. It's probably better than my idea to clean up Cuyahoga county via tactical nukes, since there's an uncanny resemblance between many politicians and cockroaches.

On the larger issue of corruption, Daniel has a major point. When we're talking about how to restart growth, we often focus on taxes, regulations, education, incentives, etc., and rarely take into account the negative effect of having local government run by a bunch of self serving shakedown artists. Honest business people don't get along well with dishonest politicians.

In Strickland, Redfern, Dimora, Kasich, and Coughlin (Oh My!) Daniel takes on Strickland's “I was against gambling before I was for gambling” shedding of principle, Redfern's related flogging of Dimora, Kasich's silence, and Coughlin's response. Confused? Welcome to Ohio Politics. Read the whole thing, as they say.

John Michael Spinelli is On Assignment, noting that Cleveland has a neighborhood in the “ Top 25” for violent crime, while Cincinnati has a neighborhood sporting the national championship. Not a title you want to bring home. He also notes that since Strickland has embraced gambling, why not create casinos on trains? (Well, technically only slots on trains, but since other states have casinos on “riverboats” that really can't go anywhere, why not a train? At least you would eventually get from Cleveland to Cincinnati.). He also makes some comparisons about our views on nuclear power (now that there's a proposal to actually build a new plant) with the French, much to the advantage of the French.

Tom Blumer of BizzyBlog starts out with one of his “positivity” pieces on Joe Nuxhall. And in these contentious days, who doesn't need some positivity? Unfortunately, it's all downhill with the inevitable descent into Kasich v Strickland (agreed that Kasich doesn't get the credit he should for balancing the Federal budget even noting that this wasn't entirely his own doing, but to imply the whole fiscal crisis is a Strickland problem is a bit of a stretch. I'll certainly sign up for the validity of describing Strickland as 'dithering', or perhaps given the slots issue, 'blithering'. And then there's the directionless Lee Fisher.

Conservative Culture notes that the ATF wants to know the serial numbers of NRA member's guns. Because, you know, the NRA is busy running guns to Mexico. Keep in mind that the unofficial ATF slogan is “You know us, we're the Waco people”. In a continuing vein, CC notes that free speech on some Ohio campuses is now optional at the whim of local security. Apparently, evangelicals are the new Irish.

Neocon Panic Attacks notes that the costs of nuclear power are more than most people suppose, and risky as well. But at least the things are capable of producing power on a large scale, unlike, say, wind or solar.

The Ohio Republic provides an update on Stowers v OH Dept of Agriculture, where the Dept. sent a swat team out to raid the Stower's – wait for it – food co-op. Seems to be a pretty extreme measure for someone likely selling illicit gluten free flour. Ohio Republic also notes that people aren't as keen on holding the d ollar as a reserve currency anymore, because the international community is loosing faith in the ability of the Administration to turn the economy around.

Tim Higgins of Just Blowing Smoke provides a fractured fairy tail update on Little Ben Riding Hood, as well as noting that whenever we have a Democratic President, we've had a health care crisis that had to be solved RIGHT NOW!, but some how, some way, we've survived.

Ben of the Keeler Political Report also notes the proposal to build a new nuclear plant in southern Ohio, but doubts that it will ever get built. So do I; most of the Green movement seems to be dedicated to stopping all energy production however they can. He also notes Gov. Strickand's flop on slot machines.

Glass City Jungle's Lisa Renee notes that the proposed Ohio budget hits the libraries pretty hard, but it's a lot more than libraries facing cuts. Just wait till the pension funds for state employees can't be ignored anymore.

Finally, my own submissions from The Boring Made Dull: Related to Daniel's posts on Cuyahoga County corruption, Ted “Poor Tax” Strickland, and on to a new topic, the failed recall effort to oust Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic.

That's it for Carnival #171; a day late, and dollar short. Thanks to all who submitted pieces.

DOUBLE ISSUE! Carnival of Ohio Politics #169 & #170

2009-06-11T15:57:00.016-04:00

Welcome to the Summer of Fun Double Issue of the Carnival of Ohio Politics, for editions #169 and #170! Jerry Rice's post-season "169" is pretty impressive but, 170? It's powered some of the most common, everyday items we continue to use:

The Apple Powerbook 170

An Olympus camera

TLM LCD monitor

Will this be the Summer of Love and Flower Power in Ohio's blogosphere? I won't be taking that bet, but the rate of blogging certainly hasn't slowed down, as this edition's submissions demonstrate.

Leading off, we have Roland Hansen Commentary, which opines that Ohio is losing a "fine elected official and a real true politician of the best kind as Gordy Heminger leaves Ohio for a job headquartered in Indiana."

The entries from the Cincinnati Beacon entice people who like to get an insider's view: To the People of Cincinnati, Shadow Hare Speaks, Shadow Hare Hero (or panhandling violator?) and The Time is Now to Join Roach.

Just Blowing Smoke takes a look at one of his local (Toledo) mayoral candidates and that candidate's relationship to a scholarship plan, a lawsuit brought by the Indiana pension funds to halt the Chrysler asset sale, and some thoughts on the left wing and the right wing of politics.

We get an Ohio Sovereignty Resolution Update from Ohio Republic that includes an announcement for their July 4th statehouse rally rescheduling. Readers are then asked to consider, "Ohio GDP falls 0.7% in 2008 – what else is new?" and to remember Flag Day, in a way that Ohio sovereignty would require, in a post titled, "Fly Ohio Flag Alone on Flag Day."

Co-editor of the Carnival, The Boring Made Dull, contemplates more taxes for the city of Barberton and Akron Mayor Plusquellic's announcement of plans to hire more police.

The Buckeye AG Network (ag for agriculture) has a few blogs representative of a mainstay Ohio industry. First up, Ohio's Mike Bumgarner Tapped to Head Center for Food and Animal Issues. We also get to read about a perspective I know I can't speak about authoritatively: what a Chevy-driving farm boy who's never owned another brand of vehicle think about the government stake now held in General Motors. And, maybe my favorite of their submissions, a post about how "...social media allows farmers to connect and converse with consumers..."

Bizzy Blog offers a critique of what it calls, "An Erroneous Early Misfire From Kasich’s PressSec" - it has to do with NCR's departure from Ohio for Georgia and the GOP candidate for Ohio Governor, John Kasich.

Former editor and thankfully blogging-again Pho's Akron Pages provides commentary on casino petitions getting caught "loading the dice," also-returning blogger Law Dork's takedown of an MSM look at the SCOTUS refusal to hear a case on DADT and the recall effort directed at Akron Mayor Plusquellic.

Lisa Renee, co-editor here and sole editor at Glass City Jungle, examines how a press release from her Mayor's office on the Ohio Supreme Court ruling against residency requirements has created a bit of discussion.

In the spirit of stick-with-itness, Spinelli on Assignment keeps us informed on what he considers to be the boost Ohio and regional transportation projects have been receiving as well as how Ohio's cities fared in the annual global quality of life ranking (that one Ohio city made the list, and which one, is interesting in and of itself).

I confess, I haven't met too many proponents of tax increases, but Madrigal Maniac offers us a look inside a group that seeks to do just that. Also to ponder: yard waste: would you rather pay a levy and get it "free" or pay for it with a fee? That's one issue cities across the country answer differently. Finally, the self-titled maniac wants to know, "Bill Todd, why are you still talking?".

Coming around again for our summer funtime is Ohio Republic with more discussion about state sovereignty: the struggle for freedom is non-partisan; our state senate is moving forward on considering SCR 13 (State Sovereignty Resolution), and, an old favorite topic of the Ohio blogosphere, Dannation! (Again.).

I used to think it unreal people could get so riled up political races literally years ahead of time. But ever since January, there's been 2010 chatter. I'm not immune from it either. In that vein, Roland Hansen Commentary preps us on the 2010 Lucas County Commissioner race.

Seneca County blog offers this Ohioan's perspective on how Ohio does (or does not, as the opinion may be) distribute federal dollars to state agencies.

In the full spirit of a double issue, Bizzy Blog participates with these three politician-centered posts: Mandel: Watchdog of Our Tax Dollars, Lee Fisher Flip-Flo and Chuck Norris Supports John Kasich… (among other gubernatorial candidates).

Blowing by again, Just Blowing Smoke speaks to the environmental movement confusion that is so much of our politics these days in Not My Bag.

Another wind-minded blog, Bearing Drift Ohio, also makes its reappearance in this edition after a hiatus and does some self-reflection in Local Blog Might Have a Point, regarding some Delaware County politics and politicians. In another reflective post, BDO analogizes politicians to high school stereotypes - no! (/sarcasm). In these days of reunions and Facebook, it's an appropriate read. And finally, orange barrel season - it's heeeeere.

Whalertly turns our attention to talk about Mike DeWine and his potential run for Attorney General. He also provides a canvass class on the economy of Ohio and Franklin County from 1970-now. And, in a more mischievious style, he poses the question of whether stealing bumper stickers is a political move.

Co-editor Daniel Jack Williamson of BuckeyeRINO takes an in-depth look at an interesting church-state-related proposal that deals with managing school time and religious instruction.

Last but most definitely not least, History Mike offers his perspective on the Holocaust Museum killer, texting while driving (hopefully he didn't blog that one while doing the same) and...jury duty.

I haven't been writing like I talk a whole lot lately, but when I have, I've mentioned the all-male bastion charged with hammering out Ohio's budget, the announcement of the first candidate to enter the 2010 race for Ohio House District #17's seat, and a round-up of national reviews that look at Ohio's public schools.

Everyone have a safe and pleasant summery week as we round the corner to...July 4 already!

Carnival of Ohio Politics #168

2009-06-03T00:10:00.003-04:00

Welcome to the 168th edition of the Carnival of Ohio Politics!

There are 168 hours in a week. Most Carnival readers and most Carnival bloggers are very busy productive people. There aren't enough hours in the week for them to do all that they have to do. Me, on the other hand, I get to use nice long arrows to block out large numbers of consecutive hours for leisurely things like sleeping and partying. Aah! The life! Don't you envy me? One big exception to the sleep schedule started at 11 PM Tuesday and carried over through the early morning hours of Wednesday, and that time is blocked out for compiling this Carnival. To compensate, I'll begin sleeping right after work on Wednesday. After all, I can't let things like the Carnival, no matter how important it is (and it is important, you know!) deprive me of my beauty rest (and those of you who've seen me know that it will take much more beauty rest to rehabilitate my ugly visage). I don't block out time for most household tasks, like laundry and washing dishes, because I don't plan to do them. Let them pile up. I don't want to squander my time on mundane chores. The exception is taking out the garbage. If I don't put it on the schedule, I'll totally forget to put the trash bins at curbside before garbage pickup. The health department has been getting on my case about all the fleas, flies, fungus, rats, mice, wild pigs, vultures, and foul odors emanating from the house, so I can't afford to keep skipping trash day. Though putting the trash out at curbside takes all of 5 minutes, I figure I'll allow myself a leisurely three hours to get it out there. I hope the health department will make note of all the trouble I'm going to in order to get the place ship shape. I get tired of all the "CONDEMNED" notices being tacked to the door, and I want them to park that crane with the wrecking ball in somebody else's yard. Well, enough for the rant against the health department, and on to bloggy goodness from the Carnival of Ohio Politics!

With a name like Bizzy Blog, I'm sure Tom Blumer is among those who may not feel there are enough hours in the week. He still finds the time to post some gems, though. How about this story, detailing a Ravenna native saving lives as a member of the Coast Guard? Also, the statewide GOP ticket for the 2010 elections, and Tom has some thoughts to share with John Kasich about Jon Husted. Josh Mandel will vy for Ohio Treasurer on that statewide GOP slate.

I happen to have the prototype model of the JMZ action figure. They still haven't worked the bugs out of it, so it hasn't hit store shelves yet. The main hangup with the JMZ action figure is that it's programmed to be just as active as the real Jill Miller Zimon, of Writes Like She Talks, and that just burns the batteries out within minutes. With her hectic schedule, Jill still manages to keep up, but I bet she wishes there were more hours in the week. Josh Mandel's candidacy announcement for Ohio Treasurer doesn't excite Jill.

Roland Hansen Commentary alerts us that the elected officials of Lucas County have a blog. Roland hopes that the elected officials are using their hours away from work for their blogging. He wouldn't want them blogging on the county's time with the taxpayers' dime.

If the Lucas County officials feel compelled to blog, then Tim Higgins can teach them a few things about the language of Blenglish, at Just Blowing Smoke. If you're a blogger, chances are you already know some Blenglish terminology. Also, lawmakers appear to squander all the hours of the week devising a needless protection racket. They think they we need them to protect us from ourselves. Don't they have better things to do with their time?

Ben Keeler, at Keeler Political Report, chimes in on the same notes as Tim Higgins about the protection racket. Matt Lundy, state representative for the 57th Ohio House District in Lorain County, has apparently been devoting his hours toward stifling payday lender clones.

I can think of worse things that elected officials can do with the hours allotted to them than blogging or devising protection rackets--like hatching new schemes to rip us off with more taxes. I'm afraid Harold Thomas, of The Ohio Republic, has bad news for us. Yep. Our politicians in Washington DC are contemplating enactment of Value Added Taxes. GRRRRR!!!!!

John Michael Spinelli, at Spinelli on Assignment, notes that Ohio workers may soon have too many hours of free time if the unemployment rate keeps getting bumped upward. The possibility exists that if tubular rail gets off the ground, some components required for its construction may be manufactured right here in Ohio. That would be nice, for a change. The Strickland Administration has finally been briefed on tubular rail proposals.

Justin Jeffre at the Cincinnati Beacon questions whether Cincinnati should be allocating any man-hours toward secretly monitoring the police. The topic came up during a question and answer segment (video is available) of a mayoral candidates' forum hosted by the NAACP. The Cincy mayoral candidates who addressed the NAACP (more video) were Dr. Brad Wenstrup, who indicated that he'd monitor police, and Jason Haap, who also blogs at Cincinnati Beacon using the nickname of The Dean of Cincinnati.

After all the hours the Strickland has committed to changing the school funding formula, the Ohio Senate has balked, requiring many more hours, maybe even months, maybe even never, to change the way schools are funded. While Beacon Journal reporter Dennis Willard thinks this latest development absolutely stinks, The Boring Made Dull is glad that the icky Strickland plan went nowhere. Also from The Boring Made Dull, Bedford school board member Andrew Mizsak has been put on notice to "man up," clean his room (at his parents' house), and maybe even get a job and his own place like any normal 28-year-old man would do. OOOOHHH!!! I'd better keep TBMD away from my house. I'd really be in trouble, then.

With all the hours I had available to me this week, I only came up with one post at Buckeye RINO. I've revisited the topic of creating School Enterprise Zones to conveniently locate an array of low-cost, low-risk supplemental learning opportunities that can occupy the hours of your schoolkids without gobbling up more of your own hours being the children's taxi driver.

Aha! I wrapped up the Carnival in a shorter amount of time than I allotted! I guess I can get more beauty rest!!!

Carnival 167 inspired by George...

2009-05-27T23:30:00.002-04:00

Inspired by George, Washington that is, the image used for Washington State Route 167 caught my eye. Despite the fact that the Ward family might have been destined for greater historical note (Artemas Ward was the first Commander-in-Chief of the "Grand American Army") had George Washington not taken over (and later criticized my many great-grandfather), I've always liked George Washington, I'm especially fond of his farewell address where he warned us about political parties and it's pretty clear we didn't listen...

Jill's submission from Writes Like She Talks is on memories, but of a different kind, in relation to Memorial Day and her thoughts on an op-ed piece written by Elizabeth Sullivan of the Plain Dealer.

Roland Hansen's blog post from Roland Hansen Commentary demonstrates the passion that's created in our two party system in his post about what he thinks is a dumb idea by Lucas County Commissioner and Mayoral candidate Ben Konop. You can get a hint as to how Roland feels about Konop by the description he shared, "perennial northwest Ohio political candidate and opportunist"...

On BuckeyeRhino Daniel Jack Williamson provides a written oratory on why he opposes charter schools in such a manner that it makes me glad I don't have to take the opposing viewpoint to debate.

Our country was founded on design of a smaller federal government, on Ohio Republic where the focus is on advocating the peaceful, legal independence of Ohio from the United States of America, comes this Memorial Day piece: "But what did they fight and die for?". Also sent in is a piece about the issue of secession in Georgia where common arguments against secession are addressed.

I can't help but wonder what kind of discussion would take place if George Washington were here today and were to read Just Blowing Smoke by Tim Higgins. What would he think about our Toledo government and projection? Ironically, this next post is about a Washington DC time warp...

On Glass City Jungle I went to our local Memorial Day Parade and focused quite a bit on the proposed fire fee that at an almost three hour contentious City Council meeting did not pass.

Carnival of Ohio Politics, CLXVI

2009-05-21T22:16:00.002-04:00

Or, if you would like, Welcome to Carnival 10100110_2. Keep in mind that there are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who understand binary, and those who don't. Also keep in mind that at the Boring Made Dull, we are all about intellectual pretension, because without pretension, we'd have no intellect at all.

And on the pretension front, the binary an roman numbers are courtesy of Wolfram Alpha, the “computational knowledge engine” that had everybody buzzing for 5 minutes, until they figured out that very little knowledge was being computed. The Boys at Google are not losing sleep ove this.

Roland Hansen Commentary takes on the 'independents', and notes that political activity is a team sport. “Independent”, of course, is one of the great euphemisms in American politics. To be independent is to be proud, individualistic, straight-shootin', tough, yet fair. In short, just like everybody else.

John Michel Spinelli tackles Credit Card Reform, teaching personal finance in high school, and as well as finding that we're all grumpy. Well, this is Ohio, after all. Though, come to think of it, California's not in such a cheery mood these days....

. Credit card reform is kind of a mixed bag. Certainly, the consequences will be that the cost of credit will go up for everybody, and in a lot of cases, people who need credit won't be able to get it.

The upside, from a paternalist conservative viewpoint, is that those with the inability to delay gratification, the math challenged, and the stupid, will be somewhat protected. The libertarian side suggests that these folks have to grow up sometime, and until they face the consequences of their actions, they never will.

Conservative Culture notes that one of the Tea Party outcomes is watching over l ocal government spending and taxes. The tea parties don't mean much to a Washington administration with huge majorities, but drop a hundred or so concerned citizens into a county or city council meeting, and you'll get some attention.

CC also notes that Lima is raising revenue through red light cameras. These are almost always revenue devices, sold as safety programs. It's also nice that the government has gamed the system by making these violatoins civil, rather than criminal, offenses, since the standard of proof is lower. Next thing you know, they'll be shaving down the yellow light time to gin up some additional tickets.

Oh, and in a minor matter, CC has a big 'I told you so' bit on the t ransition from gay marriage to polygamy. Possibly the Grand Canyon of slippery slopes.

Harold Thomas, on The Ohio Republic, notes that a significant prize has been established to encourage local governments to find ways to share services and cut costs. This is another issue where I'm of two minds; sure, less costly government is good, but what I really want is smaller, less intrusive government. And I'm probably willing to pay extra for it. Still, savings is savings.

He also notes some minor progress on a state sovereignty resolution. A minor quibble on this post; I don't collect that the Hessians were British allies in the War for Indepenence; they were mercenaries hired by the British. A very minor quibble; there's a wide range of quality available in soldiers for hire. At the end of the day, the Hessians reputation got them the gig, but they didn't live up to their billing.

History Mike, and Boring Son #1, feel free to chip in on this point.

Tim Higgins, of Just Blowing Smoke, has a nice post touching on the history of American political parties and publicly funded primaries. It's a good question. He also notes the “t hree card monty” game that Toledo Mayor Finkbiner is playing.

Finkbiner, one of the great names in American politics (“fink” says it right up front, don't you think?) is also, along with the Last Don, Akron's Mayor Don Plusquellic, is facing a recall election.

Don't know much about Finkbiner, but Da Arnold's reign in California should give one pause about voting to recall someone who hasn't actually cut anyone in half with a chainsaw. Just sayin'.

On that note, Ben Keeler of Keeler's Political Report notes that The Last Don's recall has been set for June 23.Donny Boy, after 20 kazillion years as Mayor, we hardly knew ye. Except for the fact that you were jetting all over the globe on our dime. And you think that we're not taxed enough. Certainly Akron can do better than Don. But we will probably do worse. Just take a look at the mess that calls itself Cleveland.

Lisa Renee, of Glass City Jungle comments on mayoral candidate Jim Moody's anti-crime platform (just to distinguish himself from all of the candidates with pro-crime platforms), one feature of which is to have non-violent offenders do community service in pink jumpsuits. Personally, I believe that shame, that archaic concept, could have a positive role to play. Restitution also should be a key for non-violent offenders. She also covers the Trevor Casey press conference.

Thanks to everyone who participated this week. It's Memorial Day; not just a time to reflect on the Great War, or WWII, or Korea, Viet Nam, or the War on Terror, but the countless little wars that men and women have died in to preserve our freedom. In a sunny May afternoon, it's easy to forget the sacrifices that others have made.

Carnival of Ohio Politics #165

2009-05-14T14:20:00.012-04:00

What is a carnival without an organ, right? The one in the photo is the Wurlitzer Military Band Organ Style 165. It reminds me of Savin Rock Amusement Park, where my parents used to take us on weekends. With the days getting longer and jubilees and Memorial Day just around the corner, though wind and cold temps are still here, the organ makes me feel like summer is just, about, here.

Want more smiles? Try these blog posts:

Education - can't live with it, can't live with it? Taxman Blog asks, regarding school levies, "So, are you donating?" And, on crime in Cincinnati, Taxman repots on what calls, life in "progress" city.

Just Blowing Smoke contemplates a new retirement plan, "understanding, that Social Security is probably not in my future." Ouch! The second is on the ending of the Energy Crisis, at least according to what Congress is saying.

On one of Ohio's best examples of a public entity's online communication effort, the Seneca County Blog expresses its fears that there is trouble "right here in Findlay City." Then they do a good forehead slap with the title of their post, "This is just too stupid to believe but hey, this is Ohio." I would love to see more municipalities emulate that kind of frankness!

BizzyBlog poster Rose critiques the ABJ's Steve Hoffman's critique of John Kasich in, "Waiter! I’ll Have What Steve Hoffman Is Having…" Then, Tom opines about Cincinnati’s latest reason for voting with feet (as in, leaving). Last, Rose deals with another school levy for voters to consider.

On a variation of WhyOwhyOwhyO, did I ever leave Ohio, comes Spinelli on Assignment's Budget Battle leads to more OhiWoe. Oy - this kind of thing was never done to my old homestate of Connecticut!

John Michael Spinelli isn't the only one with transportation on his mind. Co-editor Daniel Jack Williamson of BuckeyeRINO shares his thought son trains, tubular and otherwise this week also.

Ben Keeler of the Keeler Political Report, reports that opponents to Mayor Plusquellic have enough signatures to force a recall vote. He's asking readers for predictions on how that effort will go.

On the stimulus front, Ohio Republic explains why he believes it won't work. And again, something I confess to not following closely but appreciate knowing about through my editing responsibilities at the Carnival: State Sovereignty Resolution (SCR 13) was to be introduced in the Ohio Senate and then was, in fact, introduced.

Go visit this post just for the graphic that appears with History Mike's post, On License Plate Paint and Red Light Cameras.

See see see? I'm not the only one who knows how to ask a long question: from co-editor of the Carnival, Lisa Renee at Glass City Jungle: Should our area decide to join the rest of the state and have our public transportation authority be funded by sales tax instead of property tax is a hot debate item as started here on? Personally, I would love to see Lisa Renee Rant & Rave! Here, she focuses on her belief that public transportation is something that voters should decide, not something that should be decided by a few for us.

A lesson in state government from Third Base Politics is probably intended for the blog readers, but I bet we could each think of some current politician(s) who could benefit as well.

In regard to a charter school uproar in Toledo, Ohio, Roland Hansen Commentary asks, is it true that Archie Bunker is alive and well in Toledo's Old Orchard neighborhood?

And from yours truly, a few writers reported on how the GOP's numbers, in Ohio and nationally, for women in elected office are abysmal, while a 32 year old single mother of three in Cincinnati, Anitra Brockman, is running as an Independent for Cincinnati City Council.

Everyone have a glorious weekend and thank you as always for your contributions and participation.

Carnival of Ohio Politics #164: Pre-primary edition of 2009

2009-05-05T23:23:00.028-04:00

With local primary elections being held on the date of the submission deadline for Carnival #164, this was to be the pre-primary edition of the Carnival of Ohio Politics. After surveying all the entries for this week's Carnival, and seeing they were devoid of coverage of local primary races, I say we scrap the pre-primary theme and go with a number 164 theme. 164 is two times 82, and 82 happens to be the number of regular season games in the NBA, so two regular seasons' worth of games in the NBA is 164, and you just can't mention NBA and Ohio together without mentioning the Ohio native who was just named on Monday, at a ceremony in Akron, as the 2009 Most Valuable Player in the NBA, from the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James. He's had six seasons with the Cavs, so the LeBron era of regular season games of Cavs basketball is 3 times 164.

So let's make a mid-course correction:

Welcome to the LEBRON JAMES EDITION of the CARNIVAL of OHIO POLITICS!!!!!!!

This week, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers face the Atlanta Hawks in the second round of the NBA playoffs after having swept the Detroit Pistons in the first round. Should the Cavaliers advance, they would face the winners of the Boston Celtics-Orlando Magic series to determine the Eastern Conference champion, who would then play the Western Conference champion to determine the overall champ of the NBA. Currently, the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, and Denver Nuggets are still in the hunt for the Western Conference championship. We may not have a crystal ball, but I've got a hunch that fans of the Cavs and LeBron James are in for a real treat as the playoffs unfold.

Well, if you thought my thought process for how I arrived at LeBron James from the number 164 was silly and convoluted, YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHING YET! This week, Ohio's bloggers seemed to want to highlight silliness, almost as if there were some competition to see which resourceful blogger could come up with the most ridiculous story to cover in the realm of Ohio politics. Ohio can really get weird. Skeptical? Read on!

If there really were an award this week for most silly (ooh! What should we call such an award, if there were one? The Traficant Awards? I'm open to suggestions!) I'd have to give it to the Dean of Cincinnati, writing at The Cincinnati Beacon, for a story about an anonymous, costumed and masked, self-appointed crimefighter from suburban Milford who wants to ensure that Cincy's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood is safe. Who is that masked man, anyway? It's . . . (LOL!) . . . Shadow Hare! ROFL!

If that didn't tickle your funny bone, then you didn't click on the link, read through the original post, and watch the video linked to that. Go back and do it.

I'd say the Dean edged out John Michael Spinelli by a hair (hare). Spinelli on Assignment brings us the pathetic tale of a conspiracy to get Ohio and the feds to squander government $$$$ on a passenger rail route from Cleveland to Cincinnati on freight rail tracks that would take an hour and thirty minutes longer to make the trek than it would to just drive oneself there. Spinelli captures the boneheadedness of this fiasco-in-the-making by aptly nicknaming the proposed rail service as "turtle trains." If government minds were open to funding turtle trains, then we might as well funnel money into state route 3 instead of I-71, and Buckeye fans might as well travel to the next bowl game in tiny turboprops with frequent refueling stops instead of in a jumbo jet. Aside from the tortoise (turtle train) and the (Shadow) hare, Spinelli does have the more sobering story of Chrysler and potential bankruptcy, including Sherrod Brown's take on the matter. Jeep workers in Toledo may be in for a rough ride.

And while we're on the topics of silliness, Toledo, and transportation funding, Lisa Renee Ward, of Glass City Jungle, submitted a rather straightforward piece about TARTA that questions the notion of public transportation as a form of socialism. That's not the silly part. You need to read the comments in response to her post to get to the really silly stuff, like the person who suggests that we should have no public roads. I suppose that person would like to stake a claim to I-75 as their own personal toll road. At any rate, the debate which ensues among the respondents is so much more convoluted than how I arrived at LeBron James from the number 164 that I just rolled my eyes as I read it.

I hope the photo that HistoryMike has on display of a horse in front of a TARTA facility isn't what Toledo has in mind as it seeks more funding for public transportation. If so, then the turtle train story isn't silly enough to be runner-up to Shadow Hare. At least a turtle train is a train. I'd hate to think that TARTA riders would have to mount actual horses to get around Toledo. HistoryMike also has a more sober story of highway deaths and subsequent roadside memorials.

If you haven't cracked a smile by now, you haven't been clicking these links to read these fantastic blogs. Go back and click the links.

For repeat readers of the Carnival, we've come to expect a little bit of silliness injected into the posts at Just Blowing Smoke, haven't we? This time, Just Blowing Smoke turns the tables on our lawmakers, showing how they've come up with some silly laws. Also, trying to delineate clearly between foreign automobiles and domestic ones can be a bit convoluted.

At Roland Hansen Commentary, the latest quirk that Roland Hansen noticed about a member of Toledo's City Council, Lindsay Webb, is that she's all of a sudden touting a reduction in the size of city council itself. Hansen is still trying to figure Webb out. If her actions or words seem convoluted, though, I wouldn't necessarily attribute it to silliness. More likely, it's just that she's a lawyer.

The Allen County Commissioners are tough to figure out. Are tax hikes in the county's future? Conservative Culture notes that their utterances haven't been consistent. Why haven't they staked out their principles and stuck with them? Also, Jon Husted has been to the Lima area talking about a run for Ohio Secretary of State in 2010, and unveiling a proposal that includes a new composition and new rules for the body that makes Ohio's redistricting decisions in the wake of each Census.

At Writes Like She Talks, JMZ blogs about a state rep, Josh Mandel, that she can't always figure out, either. She includes a video clip of an interview with Mandel conducted outside the AIPAC conference. You can see for yourself if you can figure out Mandel by watching the video.

From Keeler Political Report: Until recently, the job of Chris Paulitz was to generate a media buzz for his boss, Senator George Voinovich. Now, as he leaves the Voinovich staff for another job, Paulitz creates his own media buzz. Isn't the media odd, sometimes, for what they choose to report?

We bloggers often pick on the media for their silliness, but sometimes they get it right. Tom Blumer, at Bizzy Blog, wants to point out that someone in the media actually got it right when they pointed out that John Kasich was chair of the budget committee in the U. S. House when Congress balanced the budget for the first time in more than 30 years back in 1997. Also, when silly politicians think they have their constituents cornered into making concessions to government, people can just up and leave. They vote with their feet.

Perhaps the entry most devoid of silliness and convoluted thinking for this week comes to us from The Ohio Republic. The text of a proposed resolution introduced in Ohio's General Assembly that affirms the Constitution's 9th and 10th Amendment provisions is included. That the people, and that local and state governments should have checks and balances upon the power and authority of the federal government makes a lot of sense, just as there are checks and balances between executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.

Some silliness has finally come to an end. Repeat drunken driver Mark Provenza has stepped down from his post as Lorain's law director, and he's been replaced by Patrick Riley, who started work on Monday. I've got that story posted at Buckeye RINO.

Feel free to share your suggestions for what we should name the awards for silliness in Ohio politics.

Though we ditched the pre-primary theme for this Carnival, I hope Ohioans took the opportunity to visit the polls if there were races in their precincts.

That concludes our Carnival. Now let me get caught up on the latest news of the Cavs and LeBron James.

Carnival 163 and musical associations

2009-04-30T07:50:00.006-04:00

As I was searching for the right image to use for Carnival 163, I came across this sign, which then automatically I could hear "I can see for miles and miles" in my head, by The Who. So not having yet looked at any of the Carnival submissions, let's see what happens as far as musical inspiration from the posts shared this week...

The first submission by Madrigal Maniac was a bit of a challenge, since the post focuses on the Health Department in Columbus closing for a week. With cities facing budget issues it's becoming clear that the employees and residents are at times the victim of others with a different plan and things are not being done in a manner that could have a lessened impact on both. All these employees are trying to do is work for a living.

From Whalertly, first thoughts on how to save Ohio's economy is the topic. Then, The NCAA and third parties generates a some thoughts. Last, Ohio's new license doesn't appear to be a hit. Which made me think of this license.

After reading that The Ohio Republic was now considered according to Homeland Security, a right wing extremist blog, I couldn't help thinking of a variation of this song. They may be right but it just may be an extremist blog you're looking for...Next, Co-author Matt Cember shares his experience writing to a State Senator about Ohio's sovereignty resolution (HCR 11).

As I read about the Campaign Junkie not being fond of the whole tea party concept, I couldn't help think about another type of a party, a garden party...Is Pennsylvania where Republicans go to die? Read the post about Arlen Specter and decide how you feel about what's shared.

Are Ohioan's losing their religion? That song came to mind as I started to read John Michael Spinelli's post from Spinelli on Assignment. The post submitted focuses on how it's believed that in Ohio as well as in other states those responding they have no religion are on the increase.

Neocon Panic Attacks has a post written by nation.of.gandhis that might create the thought lock me up as the focus is on a recent visit to Ohio by Karl Rove with the title saying He's still not arrested.

Confusion was the musical keyword that Tim Higgin's first post from Just Blowing Smoke inspired in his piece about Banking Confusion. Then Tim turns his thoughts to that of General Motors and points out this is no longer a loan or a short term fix...

Ben Keeler of the Keeler Political Report points out money isn't everything but notes that Jennifer Brunner is behind when it comes to raising money at this point. I think almost everyone can guess which song came to mind when it comes to money...Next, Ben's not thrilled with OSU's switch from quarters to semesters.

I couldn't help myself when reading Conservative Culture and coming across the phrase "Green Goon Squad" in a post about EPA being legislators, judges and enforcers all in one. I tried but It's not easy being green wouldn't go away. Mark then wonders how long it will be before Ohio redefines marriage.

Over at Writes Like She Talks Jill has been very busy when it comes to doing live blogs. One recent one that she'd like to point out is Jennifer Bruner at the Politics online conference. It could easily be said that Jill is probably having the time of her life right now.

Things here in Toledo have been serious with talks of laying off police officers and our deficit. Teachers are probably going to be laid off at our local public school system, as well as lay offs happening at the University of Toledo. So, instead of focusing on that here, which I've touched on over on Glass City Jungle...Who let the dogs out was my musical inspiration in reference to Barbara Sears testifying on Ohio's vicious dog law that she's trying to advocate changes in.

Thank you to everyone who turned in their submissions and for letting me engage in a few moments of musical fun that I hope you enjoy as well as the material that was shared....

:-)

Carnival #162

2009-04-15T12:20:00.001-04:00

Ohio Route 162 runs through Seneca, Huron, Lorain, Medina, and Summit Counties here in Northern Ohio. I feel like I see the sign for this road sometimes, but I can't place where exactly that is. Or maybe I have it confused with 261 which I know I see everyday. Anyways, that is that. Posts:

The actions and inactions of John Borell of the Lucas County Prosecutor’s office in handling the public office compatibility question regarding Joan Kuchinski, an elected member of the LCESC Governing Board, might be considered as malfeasance, nonfeasance, and/or misfeasance, according to Roland Hansen Commentary.

Three submissions this week from Jill at Writes Like She Talks. Did you know Jill is running for local public office? She has three YouTube videos uploaded to her site of her out getting signatures to appear on the ballot in November. An Ohio blogger making it big? Next up, the Brennan Center at NYU releases a report on the 2008 elections in Ohio. Finally, did the Sun News swap out "Mandel: I'm not seeking treasurer" for something less committed to not seeking treasurer office than "not seeking treasurer."?

Conservative Culture also sends three submissions this week. The Democrats are taxing and spending our country into the toilet. Are enough people mad enough to do something or will this just be another feel good party with no results CC wonders? 140,000 people now carry conceal permits in Ohio. People must only want guns to start shooting up the streets. Or could it be to protect themselves? Also, there was a home invasion in Toledo, but thankfully there was only 1 rape and no gun injuries.

An in-depth piece on the possible train coming to Ohio at Spinelli on Assignment. Is Ohio getting "railroaded?"

Two entries from Glass City Jungle. The Lucas County Sheriff, along with three employees have been indicted on federal charges relating to the death of an inmate who died in custody in 2004. Next up, Lisa appeared on Fox Toledo to talk about "sexting" and what the Ohio General Assembly is doing to diminish the chances of teens being prosecuted for a felony in addition to ending up having to be registered sex offenders.

HistoryMike discusses water access, fishing regulations and the state power over the both of them. Is the state wielding too much power in this area? The post was inspired by a visit to the Maumee River in Northwest Ohio.

And at the Keeler Report, the petition has been filed by "Change Akron Now" in their effort to replace Mayor Don Plusquellic. 4,191 signatures were filed; will it be enough? I also posted a little about the Tea Party in Cleveland that takes place on April 15.

On a final note, this is my last Carnival. Thanks to everyone who sent in submissions over the last year and a half plus. At times it has been a lot of work to put everything together, but it was worth it. I would be remiss if I also didn't thank Paul Miller who founded this whole operation. He got a good thing started, and now it is time for others to keep it going.

Carnival of Ohio Politics #161

2009-04-08T23:14:00.002-04:00

From The Boring Made Dull

Can you smell Spring? You could if you had a Schnouuut like this.

In a semi-spring theme, History Mike brings us the tale of the 'Survival Seed Bank' Garden. Enough seeds to plant you own one acre survival plot!. Of course, if we really do get the full economic meltdown, not only will you likely have to till the entire plot by hand, you'll probably have to defend it as well. And stuff takes a long time to bear fruit. Also, with little or no power available for refrigeration, you might want to consider a home canning system to preserve the food. All of a sudden, survivalism sounds like an awful lot of work. He also takes a look at proposals to mandate drug testing for welfare beneficiaries, as well as the Take Back Toledo campaign to recall Mayor Carty Finkbeiner.

Bye the bye, 'Finkbeiner' has to be one of the great names in politics.

Bryan of The Virtuous Republic offers some thoughts on John Cleves Symmes and William Henry Harrison. Be sure to click through the photo essay.

Roland Hansen takes on the debate over t he size of Toledo's city council, as well as a heart felt endorsement of Ben Konop for Mayor of Toledo , issued appropriately on April 1 ^st.

Speaking of Ben Konop, Tim from Just Blowin' smoke leaves cigar burns all over Konop's claim to be a fearless challenger of the status quo. . It's a fiskin' just like Mommy used to make. He's also got an A pril 1 ^st post on SCHIP – there are certainly fools invovled here, and one expects that they're the taxpayers – and then takes on the fool's errand of trying to reclaim the term liberal as 'someone who believes in liberty of the individual'. Adam Smith, Edmund Burke, the Founders, von Mises & Hayek agree, but my personal suspicion is that it's too far down the NewSpeak hole to ever be recovered. Pity, that.

John Michel Spinelli provides a look at the proposals for passenger rail in Ohio, and finds them somewhat behind the times.

The Ohio Republic notes that the s ecessionist movement is still asleep at the wheel, as well as Marcy Kaptur's comments on Bailoutistan.

Tom Blumer of Bizzyblog chips in on foodstamps for practically everyone. There's a similarity here to Just Blowin' Smoke's observation about subsidizing health insurance for families of 4 with $70,000 in income noted above.

Jill Miller Zimon isn't very happy about the ODOT budget, and t he tradeoff of higher trucking fees offset by increased speed limits. She also reveals that a “Friends of Jill Miller Zimon for Pepper Pike City Council” group has been formed. I'll go out on a limb here and predict that if Jill is elected to cith council, Pepper Pike will never have another dull city council meeting. Best wishes to Jill. She also provides a map of 'operation airball', linking up all of the players? Front men? Bystanders? Who knows a this point? In the current Cuyahoga County corruption investigations. You can't tell the players without a program. Click on the map to enlarge.

Valdis Krebs of The Network Thinker has more detail on the FBI's ' Operation Air Ball' map. Worth pondering in this day and age of web 2.0.

Ben Keeler of Keeler's Political Report is strangely apathetic about the NY-20 house race. Funny; so where the voters; its a statistical tie.

Rob Barga at Whalerty has thoughts on Ohio State's conversion from quarters to semesters. But will it interfere with getting the next falls freshmen into spring practice? That's the big question. Kadim, also posting at Whalerty, has an extended post on rejiggering redistricting.

Carnival of Ohio Politics #160

2009-03-24T19:08:00.003-04:00

The Aura Corner 160 Whirlpool Bath. I want one. Now.

For my rotator cuff muscles, you sillies.

Okay - get your minds out of the bath and into the heat of Ohio politics. This March is not going out like a lamb when it comes to blogging.

First up, Third Base Politics and a video entry of U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D, OH-15th) on the floor of the U.S. House. The gist seems to be that Third Base wants to call it an out, if not at least a strike.

In Ohio, the odd-numbered years bring us more local politics than anyone should have to blog about. Thanks to Roland Hansen Commentary, we get a look at one of the rumored-to-be mayoral candidates in Toledo, Keith Wilkowski. And Roland asks, what do we really know about him?

Just Blowing Smoke has a great list of budget suggestions, just in case Toledo's city council members can't come up with counter-suggestions to the current mayor's proposal.

Triple your Jacuzzi pleasure with Conservative Culture's offerings this week: It appears that a city council member who is running in a contested primary is painting the town red. (CC wants us to know that a photo is included.) Open carry is legal? It is? Is it? That sums up the thinking of some Ohio police officers when they confronted someone open carrying. History teaches that the potato has long been an object that represents sustenance and here in Ohio, where it's helping to create jobs, the spud continues to make history.

I don't know about you, but I love reading stories about residents who form a group based on a common interest and work to use the power in numbers. History Mike writes this week about how such a thing is happening with the Toledo Foreclosure Defense League.

Whalertly reports on how, during an interview with a game designer, an idea to save Ohio's economy blossomed. He also gives us a first-person account of how Chancellor Fingerhut's requirement that all of Ohio's public universities have one, common schedule is going down with OSU's student government. (The post has some interesting comments there already.)

Never a blog without an opinion, Progress Ohio's three for the show are about alleged hypocrisy (Updated: E. Gordon Gee Talks Green Initiatives While Taking Cash From Massive Polluter), alleged hypocrisy (John "The Bankster" Boehner "No Quid Pro Quo" For His $3,000,000+ In Bankster Bribes, and a chance via the Ohio Redistricting Competition for non-elected Ohioans to one-up the politicians who're also proposing renovations to the reapportionment process.

In this week's item from the Keeler Political Report, it sounds like Ben wants to thoroughly rain on the Ohio 3C train parade.

Writes Like She Talks has been more about Rest While She Can as I nurse some serious shoulder pain still yet to be formally diagnosed. But before I took a self-imposed break, I noted the Quinnipiac Poll that came out last week about Obama, Strickland and the 2010 Senate race, the continued demise of newspapers, including very close relatives of the Plain Dealer, and finally, Salon.com did a state-by-state analysis of the state of each state's GOP - they found Ohio's to have its head firmly planted in the sand.

Thanks to everyone who participated this week. I hope Spring has sprung, wherever you are.

Saint Patrick's Day 2009 Edition of the Carnival of Ohio Politics

2009-03-17T22:59:00.002-04:00

I'm such a party-pooper. Saint Patrick's Day reminds me how much of a party-pooper I am. It's not just that I'm at home blogging instead of out celebrating. It's more than that. I'm totally dysfunctional when it comes to partying.

I remember once in my adult life when I went out with officemates on a Saint Patrick's Day. It was in 1998, and I was working for Electronic Data Systems (EDS) at an office in Dublin, Ohio, a northwestern suburb of Columbus. I'd never made a habit of fraternizing with co-workers in any of my previous jobs. I was married to my first wife at the time I worked for EDS, and she encouraged me to at least take a few baby steps toward mingling with those I worked with during my time off. She didn't see how I could advance my career with the company without rubbing shoulders with them.

But here's the thing: I don't drink alcohol. Ever. I know I've packed on the pounds and I've got quite a paunch these days, so it might be natural for onlookers to suppose I've got a beer belly. But I've never had even a taste of beer (for one thing, I can't get past the foul smell of it, to start with). So many people over the years have had a chuckle at juxtaposing my first name, Daniel, with my middle name, Jack, to joke about me being the namesake of a bottle of whiskey that it sometimes comes as a surprise to them that I've never even had a sip of a Jack Daniels in my life. But really, I'm telling the truth when I say that I don't drink alcohol.

Anyway, it's Saint Patrick's Day 1998 in Dublin, Ohio, and I've tagged along with fellow workers to a pub with an Irish-sounding name not far from Muirfield's golf course, and I'm hoping to hit it off well with people who might, in the future, be professional references that I'd list on a job application, or people who might evaluate me and recommend me for promotion or something like that, but, truthfully, there was just no chemistry. I don't even like the smell of alcohol, and I can smell it everywhere in the pub, making me uncomfortable from the get-go. I don't really enjoy being around people when they're drinking, and that's doubly . . . , no, . . . triply . . . true about being around people once they start getting tipsy. While they are making merry between swigs of green-tinted ales, I'm finding that I'm not amused at the things they are amused at, and I'm getting frustrated that no one cares to join me in earnest conversation of any sort. I'm a cold wet rag dampening their spirits. They can see I'm being no fun at all. They can sense that I can't relate to them and they can't relate to me. Awkwardly, I finally decide to get up, bid them farewell, and head back home to tell a disappointed wife that I just don't mix well with the crowd from work.

That's the first and last time I went out to "party," if you can call it that, on a Saint Patrick's Day.

I do have Irish ancestry, and I do wear green on March 17th. In my own understated way, I feel like I'm in keeping with the spirit of the holiday.

Three months later, our Dublin office was closed, permanently. Clients of our business had merged and consolidated their operations in Augusta, Georgia. Accordingly, EDS followed the client to Augusta. I helped with the transition from Dublin to Augusta, but I didn't relocate with the company, so that was the end of my employment with EDS. Doesn't it always seem like business leaves Ohio for someplace else?

But, hey, you came to this page to check out this week's selections of bloggy goodness all about Ohio politics. Well, you're in luck (consider it the luck of the Irish), because we've got a pot full of treasure sitting at the end of the rainbow with great selections from across the political spectrum from Ohio's bloggers. Let's check out some of these charms.

I think we should start with Just Blowing Smoke. If you wanted something more in keeping with the Saint Patrick's Day spirit than the pathetic drivel I just related above, then you need to read his Saint Patrick's Day blog entry to make it right. Where do all of you weigh in on the subject of traffic cameras? Are traffic cameras good for public safety? Or are they just a hoax designed to bring in extra revenue for the government? Tim Higgins would like to nominate . . . (drum roll please) . . . comic actor John Lovitz for the next Mayor of Toledo. Finally, he attended an Irish wake. Not really. Actually he attended something that was billed to be a huge newspaper convention in Las Vegas, but, you might have heard, the newspaper industry is on the down-and-out.

If Lee Fisher is running for the U.S. Senate in 2010, is it possible that Congressman Tim Ryan would consider being Strickland's running mate as the candidate for Lieutenant Governor? Also from Ben Keeler, of Keeler Political Report: Apparently some aren't taking the news too well that kickball games will be a little less frequent on the Statehouse lawn.

It's now official, and Ohio Republic wants you to know it: A Resolution asserting Ohio's sovereignty, as per the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, has been introduced in the General Assembly by state reps Jarrod Martin and Kris Jordan.

The 10th Amendment isn't the only one under assault. Liberals and conservatives alike have expressed concern over the protections of the 4th Amendment, and Buckeye Punditeers dares to explore whether the bailouts exacerbate the erosion of those protections. Also, it is surmised that Ohio Republicans will not gain any traction by time warping into the past with their rhetoric, and that comparisons between Obama and Stalin, between Strickland and Marx, are just too far of a stretch for people to find believable.

Echoing that last sentiment, angryteacher, at Buckeye State Blog, says that Republican gubernatorial hopeful John Kasich has a losing message on education that insists that teachers are too selfish to act in the interests of students.

Free Market Politics looks at demographic trends and projects that union shop states will continue to lose Congressional representation compared to right-to-work states once the 2010 Census rolls in. If "cap-and-trade" is a method employed by the federal government to deal with carbon emissions, can you guess which states would foot the largest bills? If you guessed Ohio and other Rust Belt states would be disproportionately disadvantaged by "cap-and-trade," you're right. Will health care benefits from employers be subject to taxation during the Obama Administration? Obama scoffed at McCain on the campaign trail for proposing such, though the central thrust of the McCain proposal was a $5000 tax credit that would allow consumers to shop for health care on their own. No such tax credit is on the table right now, just the possibility of taxing benefits, therefore the prospects for such under Obama are way scarier than the prospects under McCain that Obama made fun of.

The Virtuous Republic provides an eyewitness account of Cincinnati's "Tea Party," protesting Obama's stimulus package. Furthermore, take the accounts of the "Tea Party" related by WCPO with a grain of salt.

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray and a Lancaster newspaper will team up for an observance of Sunshine Week, in recognition of Ohio's Sunshine Law, on Thursday the 19th. Cordray promises to answer questions from the public, and Jill Miller Zimon, of Writes Like She Talks, wants you to know about it. I absolutely love maps, and WLST has a link to a doozy of a nationwide Congressional District map. The downside of the map is that it contains data which cast Ohio in a bad light, as Ohio fares very poorly on a "well-being" index. Intuitively, we knew that, didn't we? Still, I spent quite a bit of time ogling the map. Finally, JMZ examines the MSM and the "baseless" prognostications of the Plain Dealer's demise, complete with the nuts and bolts of how news is gathered, dispersed, and marketed.

"Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" is the title of a post from Seneca County Blog that accompanies an illustration of a panda to be reckoned with, but the post is more about: Who should be the best candidates for open positions on Tiffin's Architectural Review board: Local residents? Or absentee landlords who reside a hundred miles or so away? Two city council members saw to it that the city ordinance specifies that Tiffin property owners residing in Seneca County are eligible.

Allen County's foreclosure rate increased more rapidly than did the foreclosure rate in any other Ohio county. Ouch. Conservative Culture also presents us with a portrayal of new RNC chair Michael Steele that should have conservatives in the GOP shaking their heads in disbelief. Finally, a vandal who hitched a ride to the property he vandalized couldn't find transportation to the place where he was to perform the community service that the courts sentenced him to.

The Dean of Cincinnati, at The Cincinnati Beacon, is alarmed that depressed teens might give more careful thought to suicide if they happen to read some of the local newspaper coverage on that topic. News stories of suicides ought to be crafted so that they don't inspire copycat suicides. Also, what outlandish price tag is attached to preparation and administration of the Ohio Graduation Test? Are you ready for sticker shock?

Ready for more sticker shock relative to Congressional earmarks? Lisa Renee, of Glass City Jungle, shows what her research turned up. Another GCJ offering: Ohio's race track owners don't want to be outschemed by the casino proponents. They have designs on getting slot machines at race tracks, and they may sidestep the voters, to boot.

Our cauldron at the end of the rainbow was full of blog treasures, wouldn't you agree? Before I bid farewell to the leprechauns who've been helping me, I have one post at Buckeye RINO to share about how Glenn Beck's show last Friday is spurring some of my acquaintances to become civically and politically active at the local level.

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Carnival 158 the Almost Spring Edition!

2009-03-11T22:08:00.004-04:00

The picture is to get us in the mood for Spring, there is at least 158 flower petals, if you are wondering how I somehow managed to tie in the theme of Spring and 158. When I'm not sitting at my computer I've been watching a patch of ground that looks similar to this one, waiting for signs of life to appear. A quote I came across that relates to the current economy many of us in Ohio are going through and blogging about seemed to fit, by Bo Bennett:

As sure as the spring will follow the winter, prosperity and economic growth will follow recession.

As it worked out, our first submission this week from The Ohio Republic is also related to a quote, though not spring. It's an interesting look at Hamiltonians and Jeffersonians and how the two schools of thought impacted us as a State.

While Robin Williams is quoted as “Spring is nature's way of saying, Let's party!" Over at Whalertly they are blogging about a different kind of a party, a tea party. Then an interesting suggestion on how to make the Amber Alert system work better using bloggers.

Borrowing inspiration from a well known quote, on Writes Like She Talks comes a post titled, From the Glass Houses Department. Jill would like the political posturing to stop and the work done. Marcy Kaptur scolds some name calling behavior on the floor of the House that gets some blog space and then some bias in a political editorial in the Plain Dealer draws Jill's ire.

While Borland may have said, "“No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.” Our litigous society would appear to have no season when you read Just Blowing Smoke. When I saw the next submission involved posture, I was ready to say how can that possibly involve politics. Until I read it, it's worthy of posturing about.

The title of this next post from The Network Thinker made me think of a popular spring pastime, where you yell, "play ball" though it can be said that is not the type of Operation Air Ball being written about. The post focuses on political corruption in Cuyahoga County.

At the Cincinnati Beacon while Tennyson may say "Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love", the one thing the The Dean of Cincinnati would love right now is for Joe Deters, the County Prosecutor to answer questions about racist comments. The blog post shares a letter written to NAACP President Benjamin T. Jealous.

Spring is the time of year when many decide to take up running, Keeler Political Report focuses on running, but the political type. Dennis Kucinich announcing he's not running for Senate is the focus. Ben shares that thanks to gerrymandering, Dennis would be foolish to run.

Conservative Culture blogs about State Sen. Keith Faber on the importance of State's Rights with the Stimulus Money. Then it's asked, Is there more at stake besides money? While it's not really politically related, former Lima Senior player Travis Walton gets some kudos and does bring up visions of the spring ritual of "March Madness."

When I read the title of the post from Buckeye RINO I couldn't get the quote "A man has every season while a woman only has the right to spring" out of my head. In Smackdown on Women in Sandusky Daniel covers what he feels is misogyny as well a possible cover up. When you read this well thought out post and the linked material? It'd be hard to disagree.

While the opening quote I used for this mentioned this recession would pass, History Mike takes a tour around the Toledo area, noticing the recessonary carnage. Next, Mike is tired of people trying to demonize Kumbaya. This inspired me to additionally share one of my favorite versions of the song by Joan Baez.

As for me and Glass City Jungle, one of the reasons why Spring is my favorite season can be found in this quote, by Margaret Atwood, "In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." In my case the first day of spring will mean I am older than dirt...almost officially...I have a bit different of a view on the Mary Taylor saga, though I agree people should be focusing on doing their jobs. My party too...Some were a bit surprised that Governor Strickland used the word damn in responding to some of the media attention he's had recently that he takes issue with. Perhaps he was quoting Rhett Butler, the sentiment was the same.

That's it for the it's almost Spring edition of the Carnival of Ohio Politics, I hope you enjoy all of the posts shared this week.

Carnival #157

2009-03-04T22:33:00.002-05:00

So, what's this week's theme? As you may have noticed, the Editors / Editresses of the Carnival of Ohio Politics are obsessed with numerology. Every stinkin' edition is numbered, and the number plays into some sort of theme, photo, or video to set the week's posts.

Unfortunately, for a guy who earns a crust as as spreadsheet jockey, what's to make of Carnival #157? It's a hundred more varieties than Heinz offers. We just passed square root day, and the square root o f 157 is 12.53. The square of 157 is 24,649. But at least it's a prime number! And according to Wikipedia, that font of all things mathematical, 157 is a repdigit in base 12!. Which reminds me of the old saw, there are 10 kinds of people in the world, those that understand binary, and those who don't.

Still, in search of more meaning for #157, I consulted the long ignored, and wholly ficticonal gnostic apocraphal book, the Reveleation of St. Blather, chapter 15 v. 7:

“And behold, I saw a pale blogger, riding on a dull horse, and the hordes of ennui followed, and many heads were bashed against keyboards, as bordeom over took them, and there was much snoring and grinding of teeth in their sleep...”

Welcome to the Carnival of Ohio Politics, #157.

But before we start, I semi- promised Jill an item from her past:

Jeff at Free Market Politics feels Ohio's pain. Not that one really needed this Tax Foundation study to come to the same conclusion.

Over at Whalertly, two pieces on how the Minnesota Senate election debacle crimps the rights of Ohio and the other states, and in part 2 he's not crazy about the plan to give Washington DC congressional representation either. Giving the District a seat in Congress always seemed flatulently unconstitutional to me, but that rarely stops Congress or even the Courts. As a side note, he's also blegging for a name for a new Columbus based sports feature.

Ben from Keeler Political Report relays the results from his Boston Mills tryout for “World's Most Extreme Bonehead Snowboard Video's”, combined with some concussion induced musings on why Ohio has so many area codes, as well as the return of the Zombie Issue, Casino Gambling. Buckeye Punditeers are also not amused by the return of the Zombie Issue. But more on those nefarious scoundrels below. Jill has also chimed in on the Zombie Issue- at one point, I think that she had 157 reasons why casinos are a bad idea at some point. .

Conservative Culture is also less than impressed with Congress' unconstitutional devaluation of the voting rights of Ohio and the other states by giving the District of Columbia a congress critter. But his is impressed with Temple Christian – a charter school – that is now starting to provide computers with some of it's state supplemental funding.

Gary Lewis of Rightrunner wants Congressman Michael Turner to man up and give up the earmarks. Good luck with that project. He also has a Times-Gazette article up on the “Fairness Doctrine”. I suspect that we're more likely to see the FCC tinker with station licensing regulations in the name of “diversity” rather than a restoration of official censorship. But hey, to me, Diogenes was an optimist.

Buckeye Punditeers are indulging in Bellinis and Pres. Obama's budget and SOTU.

This. Is. Just. Wrong. As. Wrong. As. Typing. A. Period. After. Every. Word. For. Emphasis.

No link to a recipe for a Bellini. As a public service, a recipe is here. Essentially, it's a mimosa, substituting peach puree for orange juice. Withholding drink recipes is one of the main gripes the MSM has with bloggers, and now this. Sigh A world so driven by political strife, we can't even share cocktail recipes*..

Daniel Williamson of Buckeye RINO shares his Lincoln Day Dinner experience in Cuyahoga County, and finds Josh Mandel larger than life.

I've been thinking abit about the RINO issue. In the Reagan eara, RINOs were the liberal wing of the Republican party. In the Bush era, subtracting foreign policy, the RINO seems to be more conservative than the party.... Just a thought. Don't pinch it; it's copyright; if I wasn't both a) lazy and b) consumed by 70 hour work weeks, perhaps I'd have posted in detail on this by now.

HistoryMike has some unpleasant thoughts on Tom Skeldon. Who's Tom Skeldon? The Lucas County Dog Warden. And from the links attached, justifiably so.

Seneca County Blog points to the key issue of the stimulus plan – who's going to pay for all this new stimulus debt?

Jill Miller Zimon has some thoughts on Mary Taylor, the only Republican with a state wide office in Ohio. She also notes some similarities between Strickland's centralization plans and Jim Petro's, Other than the MSM characterization, the only apparent difference was the Petro was claiming this as a device to shrink the state workforce. 'Claiming' being the operative.

And closing out the posts for the week, The Ohio Republic sends three on the state sovereignty movement:here, here, and here. Since state's rights have been fairly or unfairly tagged as racist, devolving political control from Washington to the states is, euphemistically put, an uphill stuggle.

* Of course, I could just be the caricature of the out of touch conservative who hasn't a clue about the latest yodels of pop culture..... When your motto is “Boring, yet Dull”, these things happen.

Carnival #156

2009-02-25T13:12:00.005-05:00

Edition #156 is dedicated to the former NBC television show The West Wing. The show ran for seven seasons, from September 1999 through May of 2006. There were 154 episodes and two special episodes, for a total of 156.

First up this week is Buckeye Punditeers. What about someone who isn't a typical "suspect" for Ohio Senator? BP lists off key founders who weren't career politicians. However, as noted, the parties love how things are now because there is control in predictably. Next, what are the similarities between Jennifer Brunner and Ken Blackwell?

*Buckeye Punditeers is also debuting a new feature: BP After Hours....

Roland Hansen Commentary wants to know if Ben Konop has any loyalty to the voters, or does he just use them to further his own career? This thought comes as it appears another Konop promise will be broken. Next, is Toledo mayoral candidate Jim Moody a political spiderman?

One post from Buckeye RINO. ORP Chairman Kevin DeWine made a visit to the Erie County Republicans. Daniel Jack Williamson was able to ask DeWine a few questions one on one and he reports back on it.

"Despite the economy's downturn in 2008, the sale of hard liquor increased in Ohio," we learn at Free Market Politics. Sounds about right. Jeff presents us with a "glass half full / glass half empty" post.....but what does it really mean and what will the smart money do? I wish I was "smart money."

The role of Ohio's blogosphere is always evolving, writes Jill at Writes Like She Talks. She offers up some advice to candidates or potential candidates on how to engage all of us. Next, Jill thinks and states why people should give up the "should stay here" mantra when it comes to the 2010 Senate race here (stemmed from a comment she made on another blog). Third, a post that says the Ohio legislature should incorporate media literacy into K-12 education curriculum.

Why is the Fairness Doctrine exclusive to only AM Radio, Just Blowing Smoke asks. How is a one Clear Channel radio station in Toledo the same as the Toledo Blade? Tim Higgins for Secretary of the Treasury? Tim is joking, but the post does have some serious questions relating to the debt and circular lending pattern we find ourselves in.

Three posts from Conservative Culture. Ignacio Ramos (freed border patrol agent) was in Ohio in prison. They are now free but under house confinement for now. CC hopes for a return to normalcy for Ramos and Jose Compean. In a not so typical alliance, CC agrees with George McGovern. Lastly, one liberal clergy's protest. This clergy sounds good for worldly behavior but does this represent what he is supposed to stand for in the church?

NeoCon Panic Attacks has a response to this Progress Ohio article. The argument states that hemp is the universal solvent of economic disparity.

Tom Blumer of Bizzy Blog wants to know why the Cleveland Plain Dealer picked who it did to be local "housing experts," two community organizers and a government official.

What is the best way to frame last night's speech and the media and blog reactions than with lyrics from a Broadway show? There is only one choice, says Divided We Stand, United We Fall.

At the Keeler Report, Peter Lawson Jones announces that he is going to run for Senate. Well he didn't announce at my site, I just talked about it. I gave Dennis Willard of the ABJ a sarcastic comment about his Democratic Senate Primary column as well. Additionally, I updated the Ohio Politics page to reflect the new dynamics of Brunner vs. Fisher.

Thanks Everyone!

Carnival of Ohio Politics, #155 - The Survivors Edition

2009-02-18T08:38:00.012-05:00

The number of individuals who have lived to tell the tale of U.S. Airways Flight #1549 is 155. And I for one wouldn't mind in the least if every single one of them wrote a book about their experience. (FYI - I used this video because it was one of the first Google results - nothing hidden re: CBS, please - I watch the statistical equivalent of zero television.)

Will the blog survival rate be as good when the 2010 election finally rolls around? I don't know but the following are all hardy participants:

Roland Hansen Commentary wants to see President Barack Obama nominate Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur for Secretary of Commerce.

Co-editor Ben Keeler of Keeler Political Report wants to know how Sherrod Brown plans on measuring the saving/creation of his projected 133,000 Ohio jobs under the stimulus. Ben also reflects on how, "fair or not with the circumstances, Brown owns the deciding 60th vote for the stimulus." And, Ben gets in the first of what is sure to be many posts dealing with the official entrance of Ohio SOS Jennifer Brunner and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher into the 2010 Democratic primary race for being the party's nominee to fill retiring U.S. Senator George Voinovich's seat.

Here's an idea that's definitely in line with the times: Whalertly tells us about an online suggestion box from Ohio Citizens to the Ohio legislature. In another 21st Century style PSA, you can get answers to which TV stations shut down and which are still broadcasting in analog.

Who will be the next CJ (Chief Justice)? Read the reflections at Buckeye Punditeers for the answer. If you didn't get that one right, read up on the response to this: What is ground zero for so-called culture wars? You might be surprised at what the Punditeers name.

I don't know about you, but stories like this one about a teacher whose penny pinching leads to a $2 million gift, highlighted as a Positivity story at Bizzy Blog, alway make me smile. Bizzy also offers his take on the run-up to Sherrod Brown's deciding vote, previously noted by Ben Keeler.

The Ohio Republic breaks the big news: the development of a State sovereignty resolution for Ohio, following a trend in approximately 20 other states (I don't know about anyone else, but that actually really is news to me). Updates include more information about Ohio's resolution and another one about New Hampshire and Ohio's.

Although Just Blowing Smoke says he's still, "off in the wilds of Bogota, Columbia," he wants to instruct us on both the Fairness Doctrine from afar and the stimulus package - as opposed to a care package, I assume, riiiight?

Divided We Stand, United We Fall explains his opinion that President Obama is embracing what he calls "the Bush/Cheney unitary executive" idea "again and again and again."

What gets people through the tough times, and who has the qualities to get through those tough times is the subject of History Mike's exploration in Tough Times, Tough People.

Conservative Culture defines his idea of compassion and stimulation for the Ohio economy in a post that examines Governor Ted Strickland's grant of clemency to a death row inmate. What do shootings, chain saws and mad racoons - oh, and Ohio politics - have in common? You'll have to read for yourself.

Co-editrix Lisa Renee of Glass City Jungle writes about how some of the verbal exchanges that happen in her local media has created discussion about the Fairness Doctrine (hint: it involves parasites and cowards!). Then, as many of us have come to expect from GCJ, it tackles the phenomenon of how some Republicans are closet socialists-*Gasp*

On a wonderfully positive note, Rowsey Blog takes time to notice and note how Westerville is continuing on its path to going green.

It's pretty hard to escape the economy or economics, especially here in Ohio and Free Market Politics is no exception with its offerings this week: consider the ignored lessons of history, Part II, a compare and contrast of Mankiw versus Newsweek, and finally, on the main street level, what's overheard at a grocery store during times like the present.

I've been writing like I've been talking in regard to the Democratic field of U.S. Senate hopefuls, but also about the failure, again, for the local media to cover large, local entities like, oh, say - the Cleveland Clinic taking its act to Israel and a chance for Ohioans to see a state by state comparison of how the stimulus act is anticipated make an impact.

Thank you again for participating in whatever capacity with the Carnival of Ohio Politics. Let us know if you want a button to put on your blog and please spread the word. It seems that as the 2010 races are coming to light, and municipal elections are practically around the corner, there are indeed more and more Ohio political blogs. Let's get a cacophony, yes?!

Carnival of Ohio Politics dadgum number 154

2009-02-10T23:47:00.003-05:00

Howdy, folks! I'm 'spectin' that y'all're thinkin' Daniel Jack Williamson'd be writin' th' Carnival this week. Well, I'm his cuzzin, Jack Daniels Williamson, and I decided t' give Daniel th' week off. I ain't much of a typist, an' I ain't got much of book l'arnin', an' I ain't even come from 'roun' these parts, but it was plain fer me t' see that Daniel dudn't know Jack 'bout puttin' together no Carnival. I been comparin' his Carnivals with them there Carnivals that them there other editors been writin', an' Daniel's been comin' up on th' short end of th' stick.

Daniel wuz 'bout t' make th' same mistake this week that he made all th' other weeks. He starts with some pikchur that ain't nothin' special an' he makes it stand fer a number. It might be th' number of that week's Carnival, but he can't see that his numbers ain't nothin' special. Fer one thing, the numbers've got three digits in a row, an' that's higher than most folks can count. Fer 'nother thing, there are 5 reg'lar editors of the Carnival, which means that when it's Daniel's week t' write, th' number ends with either a 4 or a 9, which ain't nothin' special, but he tries t' pikchur th' number anyhows. Meanwhiles, them there other editors don't find themselves beholden t' numbers that ain't nothin' special. If'n them there other editors can find sum'p'm special on th' calendar, they'll fergitt th' dadgum number, an' make th' Carnival more of a holiday-like event. Dudn't that seem like th' right thing t' do fer sum'p'm that y'all call a Carnival? Daniel wuz lookin' through pikchurs of some feller with a football. I sez t' Daniel, "Whatcha doin' that fer?" He sez th' football feller is Brian Sipe, th' one that played fer them there Cleveland Browns. He sez Sipe threw fer 154 touchdowns in his NFL career, so Sipe'd be perfikt fer th' Carnival pikchur 'cuz of th' number 154 an' cuz of th' link t' Ohio. I sez t' Daniel, "Never you mind no dadgum number too high fer most folks t' count to, y'all got Prez'dents' Day an' Valentines on th' dadgum calendar, so fergitt a pikchur of th' football feller, an' put some hearts on there fer Valentines. You ain't payin' attention t' what them there other editors do t' make th' Carnival special. Lookit Ben. He made a post-election Carnival. Don't that beat a dadgum number 141 Carnival? Lookit McKee. He made a Christmas Eve Carnival. Don't that beat a dadgum number 147 Carnival? Lookit Lisa Renee. She made a Thanksgiving Carnival an' a Year-end Carnival. Don't that beat 143 an' 148? Lookit Jill. She gets th' special numbers that end in 5 or 0, but you don't get them there special numbers. You coulda made a New Year Carnival with fireworks an' party hats, but NO, you were beholden to some dadgum number 149, an' you came up with what? With WHAT? Some wimmin's snowboard, all cuz it measured 149 centimeters. Centimeters! Them there Frenchies measure in centimeters, you varmint, not red-blooded Americans! An' then it ain't even obvious th' pikchur's a snowboard after all. Don't fergitt Jill wuz about floored thinkin' it mighta been a feminine napkin! Never you mind your dadgum number 154 an' th' football feller. This here's gonna be a Valentines Carnival!"

Daniel, he just kinda muttered under his breath, but I heard him, anyhows. He sez sum'p'm 'bout Valentines should be Jill's Carnival, cuz it's closer t' next week than it is this week. I wuz just about fed up with Daniel, so I sez to leave th' Carnival t' me. Daniel sez I have t' call it Carnival #154, cuz Valentines is Jill's. I sez t' Daniel, "You don't know nothin' 'bout no Valentines, I can tell. I bet you got nothin' planned for Valentines. You ain't got no date. You ain't got no girlfriend, you ain't got no romance, you ain't nothin' festive or holidayish 'bout you, so you can't possibly write no Carnival. You gotta get outta them there pajamas, away from that there keyboard in your dadgum parents' basement, take a dadgum shower, put on some REAL dadgum clothes, and get a real life! Off with you! Let me handle this."

OK, I called it Carnival dadgum number 154, but I didn't put no football feller's pikchur, no. I traced over some Valentine, and that's the pikchur fer this here Carnival. So smooch your loved one whiles you read, cuz this here is a romantic-like, holiday-like, special festive-like, party-like Valentines Carnival.

An' if you folks have to have your dadgum numbers, then we oughta do like History Mike, and give each number its own color, not that dadgum silly stuff that Daniel pulls outta his hind end like snowboards measured by Frenchies. There were some really dumb people that got caught out on Lake Erie ice while it was melting costin' th' taxpayers a purty penny t' rescue 'em all. Daniel's 'bout dumb as that.

Tim Higgins may be Just Blowin' Smoke, but Daniel blows nothin' but hot air an' farts. If Tim thinks Toledo's brains are bein' drained, he should lookit what's happened t' Daniel's brain. It's a harebrained idea t' fund childrens health insurance with high taxes on t'backy. It mighta even been Daniel's dumb idea. But Daniel dudn't care t' fix problems. He's like them there politicos that just want y'all t' fear th' problems an' know who's t' blame fer th' problems, but that aint good 'nuff, an' I shur hope th' American President don't be like Daniel.

Our American President hopes t' stimmilate th' 'conomy. I ain't so shur that spendin' money faster'n y'all can print it is gonna work. Divided We Stand, United We Fall isn't so shur either. A divided and balanced gov'mint woulda made shur we ain't gettin' railroaded.

Mebbe t' stop th' Congress from railroadin' us, our state oughta do like 9 other states've done, and introduce rez'lutions that th' 10th Amendment t' th' Constitution permits a degree of sovereignty in r'lation t' th' national gov'mint. The Ohio Republic is gonna give it a shot.

Who's in charge of th' 'conomy? Th' national gov'mint? Daniel? Th' national gov'mint acting like Daniel? Right Runner wants t' know whether th' national gov'mint can cap salaries.

Likewise, Free Market Politics wants t' know if'n th' unions pull th' strings on th' national gov'mint. Some Republicans in th' Senate of th' U. S. of A. figger that Congress ain't done 'nuff t' sabotage th' housin' market, so they figger t' do more damage, an' this time, I don't mean let Daniel run it into th' ground. Mebbe th' best thing t' do'd be nothin' at all.

The national gov'mint do nothin' at all? Too late fer that. We got dadgum bailouts all over th' place. Oh . . . 'cept "bailout" is a "misnomer," right? Cuz them there bailouts are all gonna be paid back t' th' gov'mint, right? Bizzy Blog looked at th' dadgum numbers, an' he dudn't see noways how Chrysler an' GM are gonna pay back, cuz even with th' bailout, they're doin' worser than Ford, who ain't got a dadgum bailout.

Buckeye Punditeers gives th' American President permission t' create a $350,000 dollar job fer them. Mebbe Petro an' mebbe O'Connor are gonna be th' Republicans chasin' after th' Ohio Supreme Court Justice job, but th' Democrats just ain't sayin' nothin' 'bout if'n they're gonna chase after it, so mebbe it's high time t' throw some names out there. Who's gonna d'cide th' budget fer th' state gov'mint? Daniel? Somebody dumb like Daniel? An' if'n th' state goes t' hackin', an' hackin', an' hackin' away at th' budget, might th' result be as deadly as Anna Nicole Smith's over-use of diet pills? If'n I wuz gonna use some pikchur fer Carnival that wudn't a Valentine, I mighta used a pikchur of Anna Nicole Smith rather'n a pikchur of Brian Sipe, but I ain't shur Daniel'd know a thing 'bout such things.

Mebbe John Kasich'll perch atop the state gov'mint after th' 'lections in 2010. Third Base Politics sez if'n Kasich goes fer it, who's t' say he can't get it done?

If'n Mayor Coleman wipes out City Center Mall in Columbus, Whalertly ain't so shur that a better use fer th' property's been hammered out. In spite of Whalertly's lack of confidence, it'd be worser if'n Daniel had t' figger out what t' do with it.

An' now fer real life, sum'p'm that Daniel dudn't know much 'bout whiles he sits in his dadgum parents' basement in his dadgum pajamas typin' away at his dadgum keyboard. The Madrigal Maniac 'xamines the shockin' news that more of our soldiers died from suicide in Janiarry than died from combat. Daniel oughta read that one just t' keep things real.

Daniel also oughta read about th' newlywed from Allen County, Staff Sgt. Jason Burkholder, who lost his life whiles fightin' in Afghanistan. If'n you didn't smooch your loved one yet while readin' this Valentines Carnival, now might be a good time t' do so. You might not get t' do it t'morrow. That's how real life goes some of th' time. Conservative Culture also has some disappointin' news 'bout th' Allen County 'conomy, with Ford layoffs an' sales tax hikes loomin' as possibilities.

Now fer them there other Carnival editors that Daniel'd better be lookin' more careful at if'n he wants t' be a better Carnival writer. At Keeler Political Report, Ben sez Lee Fisher is gonna chase after the job that Voinovich'll be leavin'. Mike DeWine is gonna chase after sum'p'm, too, but 'xactly what, well, that ain't been figgered out yet.

At Writes Like She Talks, Jill sez if'n Fisher is gonna chase after th' Senate job, Brunner might give it a go, too. What the hay, why not have Josh Mandel chase after th' job, too.

At Glass City Jungle, Lisa Renee sez that th' ever-growin' state def'cit means that Toledo'll have a growin' def'cit, too. How's Toledo t' stay afloat if'n th' only thing that gets business t' come here is t' bribe 'em all?

At The Boring Made Dull, McKee sez them there Akron City Schools ain't got 'nuff cash. Them there schools could try doin' what McKee sez t' do, or they could just do th' usual thing, which is raise taxes. Even Daniel, dumb as he is, could come up with sum'p'm dumb like raise taxes.

Daniel writes Buckeye RINO. What a stupid name fer a blog. What kinda constituency is gonna read a blog with a name like that? Stupid is as stupid does. Anyhows, Daniel sez that folks complain about th' auditors in Erie County and Lorain County increasing th' property values on paper t' grab more property taxes, but it ain't right when th' property values in real life are sagging lower an' lower all th' time. If'n folks didn't complain 'bout it so much, Daniel'd have no idea it was even goin' on, cuz he just sits at that dadgum keyboard in his dadgum pajamas. An' if'n y'all ain't heard 'nuff 'bout who's chasin' after what job, Daniel has sum'p'm 'bout that, too.

An' that's Jack Daniels Williamson, pinch-hittin' for Daniel that dudn't know Jack.

Carnival #153: The light at the end of the tunnel

2009-02-04T21:11:00.004-05:00

My father had this saying that has stuck with me, when things have the appearance that they might be going well, he used to say, "I saw the light at the end of the tunnel and it wasn't a train." That's how I felt at first when I heard the Governor's education plan as was announced with the rest of the budget. Now, the more information that gets released, I'm not so sure if it isn't a train. If nothing else, it could be said part of the budget involves trains since supposedly Toledo will one day be joined by rail to other parts of Ohio. So, all aboard for this week's edition of the Carnival of Ohio Politics.

Our first stop on our travels is Free Market Politics where the first focus is the new definition by some of what being Unpatriotic means. It was then noticed that the stimulus package includes language that would require that all stimulus-funded projects use only American-made equipment and goods. Still on the topic of the stimulus, not all investors are singing it's praises.

Next destination, Whalertly where the recent storm that left so many without power created some wondering as to why Ohio should have underground electric wires. Interestingly enough the Governor's budget did mention a tax credit for film making, perhaps he's been paying attention to events like this one.

I can't get aboard the train that Just Blowing Smoke focuses on this week. It's a journey that I think is not cake or death. I will however nicely wave at Tim and wish those who want to attempt to travel that track good luck.

Our journey next takes us to one of the fellow conductors, Keeler Political Report where first we learn who's train he'll get on board, Mike DeWine for AG. Next a train ride that at least at this stage sounds like something that might be considered, State Senator Coughlin files paperwork to start a possible run for Governor.

Next what could be the perfect plot for one of those train mysteries from The Network Thinker where the political corruption in Cleveland is being mapped, connecting the dots and map the flows of influence as they are uncovered by the FBI and reported by the Plain Dealer.

Traveling all the way to Cincinnati, which happens to be on the Governor's plan for rail travel, The Cincinnati Beacon the hot topic at their stop of our journey involves accusations regarding an Obama assassination joke.

We then make a quick stop at Bizzy Blog for some quick comments on the Governor's State of the State. Also on your recommended itinerary are some excerpts from the State of the State that include quite a few topics, including, Three C (Cincy-Col-Cleve, sorry no T) passenger rail.

Heading towards the final stretch of our journey, we make a stop at The Ohio Republic. Here you'll read a road map to take Ohio on it's own path and why secession would be advised given the current situation. Some food for thought on your journey also includes, some kudos for the Governor with a call for our General Assembly to get on board.

Another fellow conductor working from Writes Like She Talks demonstrated the speed in which she can perform her duties. This is evidence in live blogging the State of the State.

Your final destination, takes you deep into the Jungle, Glass City Jungle, where quite a bit of time was spent on the Governor's plan, especially related to questions concerning why NWO did not appear to be favored with funding. With the price of fares on the mind of any traveler, I also wondered, isn't raising fees similar to raising taxes? While it does not appear NWO is being given dollars for education, Toledo received 12.2 million dollars from U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program along with several other Cities and Counties in Ohio.

Thanks to all of those who climbed aboard this train inspired Carnival of Ohio Politics, I hope you make sure to stop and visit all the destinations shared today.

Carnival #152

2009-01-28T21:43:00.003-05:00

Welcome to the Carnival of Ohio Politics #152. In searching for a theme for this week's carnival, I was temporarily stumped. Mostly because Ben took all the Baccardi 151 for last week's edition. I semi-promised Jill that I'd do a Ramones theme, but perhaps we'll wait till we get more details on Strickland's education plan before going to Rock and Roll High School. The inauguration? I considered Tom Lehrer's “ National Brotherhood Week”, but it's so NSFW that it would land you in Diversity Poltical Re-Education Camp for just listening.

But then, a revelation was vouchsafed to me. By giving up seeking, I found.

Specifically, I found spam in the Carnival mailbox, from one assuredly lovely Rita:

“ My name is Rita,i like traveling and meeting new friend and i would like us to be come friend.

Please can you contact me through my email address at (xxxxxxxxxx)* so that i will send my pictures to you.

Thanks.

Rita”

Apparently, the only industry left that doesn't require a bailout. With that, there's only one possible theme:

And now, on to politics as usual:

Jill Miller Zimon isn't happy with Tim Hagan's attitude on the Medical Mart, Or his attitude in general. I doubt that he's the only person in government with an I-know-better-than-you attitude. She also has thoughts on the sidewalk / path issue in Solon. If you think that's wasteful, just remind your self that it's an investment in economic infrastructure! Soon Uncle Sam will be sending more tax dollars you way. Also not crazy about “policy light, blindly ambitious, & great fundraiser” Josh Mandel running for State Treasurer.

Jason Rowsey notes that Columbus is having a tough financial time, and the city's unionized employees aren't exactly leaping forward to help. Something we'll be hearing more of in the future, as the underfunded and overpromised public employee pensions run into trouble. Politicians of all stripes have been eager to agree to hefty union benefit costs to buy votes today at the expense of the future.

Ben Keeler follows up on an early ID of Peter Lawson Jones as a candidate for Senate, now that George Voinovich is going to retire. Ham Sandwich could not be reached for comment.

Whalertly follows up with a quick look at 8 candidates for the Senate – 4 from each party. For some unknown reason, Ham Sandwich didn't make the list. He also has thoughts on the Ohio budget, and Strickland's desire for some concessions from the unions. I suspect that it's perfectly correct to note that the stimulus / bailout package isn't going to do much to structurally fix this problem.

Jeff Lehner of Free Market Politics notes that Gov. Strickland has been at it for two years, and doesn't have much to show in the way of helping businesses grow profitably, as well as Buckeye State Blog's view of the secret ballot as “ country club elitism”.

Harold Thomas from The Ohio Republic looks at some of the nuts-n-bolts of Ohio's leaving the Union.

The Dean of Cincinnati is less than amused by Joe Deters hanging out with f olks running white supremacist newsletters and swapping Obama assassination jokes. He notes that sooner or later, the Secret Service is going to have to pay someone a visit.

Tim Higgins at Just Blowing Smoke has some thoughts on the Toledo Blade and their recent front page articles on Tom Noe. Of course, the Noe scandal was what, 5 years ago? If I'm still turning out pieces on Marc “Dannimal House” Dann 5 years from now, barring any fresh atrocities, it will be time to go.

* Email address excised by order of Committee on Blogger Safety.

Carnival of Ohio Politics #151

2009-01-21T14:54:00.003-05:00

Carnival #151 is live. No corporate sponsorship this week due to the Inauguration of the 44th President of the United States.

Anyways, the only thing that comes to my mind when I think of 151 is Bacardi 151. And that is not pleasant to me.......

Roland Hansen Commentary is now seeking applications from candidates for the position of Mayor of Toledo and for the position of at-large representative to Toledo City Council. Those interested can apply apply online at his site by responding in the comments section of the post. As a previous candidate for elective office, Roland says he knows how difficult it can be to receive media exposure.

History Mike shares his feelings from yesterday. Not someone who usually watches these things, Mike had a different feeling this time, and also had some words for those who tried to step on Obama's day.

Conservative Culture has two posts this week. Already mayoral race time in Lima? William Dakota announced Monday he is running for mayor and going to try and bring people to Lima as visitors. He also ran in 2005. Next, can you live anywhere and work for the City of Lima? That is the question now before the Ohio Supreme Court as they look at an ordinance passed in 2000.

As we transition to a new era in DC, Free Market Politics has a farewell to Former President Bush. FMP has some facts about the economy as power changes.

The Chief Source has switched gears, but still has a Tim Ryan sighting in Washington story to share.

A former Hillary Clinton supporter seeks to promote women in political office through non-partisan group, reports Jill at Writes Likes She Talks. Is The Plain Dealer already in the sexism game when it comes to potential candidates for US Senate 2010? Hmmmm. Lastly, Jill wonders if her local Ohio House Representative, Josh Mandel, is more comfortable marching against the Freedom of Choice Act than answering a reporter's direct question about his position on abortion.

Over at Whalerty, the argument that raising taxes is good for the country, and might be good for Ohio as well. One sentence sums up what most of us think: "None of us want to pay a large amount in taxes, but we all want to use the benefits that come from it."

Lisa at Glass City Jungle has two submissions for this edition. Rehashing or should it be remashing the Pawpaw? This is a debate that goes back a couple of years. GCJ also links to stories of local residents going to Washington for the events the last couple of days.

Seneca County Blog: Washington Road Trip! The post actually might not be what you think, as the author voted for McCain.

Is social conservatism a net vote loser? Boring Made Dull lays out the case otherwise, using examples from the 2008 campaign and the Bush Administration. Former Strickland aide Eric McFadden is arrested for running a prostitution ring. Fits in with the Strickland atmosphere according to TBMD.

Casino Logic. That is the title of the latest post at Just Blowing Smoke. What is the logic of building gambling establishments at a time when disposable income in this country is at almost all-time low, Tim wonders?

At the Keeler Report, there is already polling in the 2010 Ohio Senate race. Even though it means next to nothing this early, it is still fun to look at. Rob Portman is the early leader. Kevin Coughlin announces he is exploring a run for Ohio Governor. I also covered this at Ohio Politics, which I still update every once in awhile.

Okay, that is a wrap for this week.

Carnival of Ohio Politics, #150, The Auto Bailout Edition

2009-01-14T08:38:00.021-05:00

I've never actually owned a Ford (but we did own a Mercury Sable - is that close enough?), but this year, the F-150, which I remember hearing many years ago is the best-selling car in the U.S. of A., received top honors this year:

Ford Motor Co.'s new F-150 pickup was honored Sunday [1/11/09] at the Detroit auto show as the North American Truck of the Year, a boost to a vehicle critical to Ford's success:

...the F-series trucks were the top-selling vehicle in America for the 27th consecutive year.
The car and truck of the year honors are decided by votes of auto critics.
One of them, Matt DeLorenzo of Road & Track magazine, praised the quiet, comfortable ride of the redesigned F-150s, which start at $21,565.
"On the last go-round, Ford set the bar high with its high-quality interior and has managed to improve upon it with a completely new design," he wrote in his ballot comments. "Improvements in sound isolation, visibility and drivability are icing on the cake."
Ford's truck marketing manager, Doug Scott, said Sunday's award is another nod to what Ford expects to remain the country's best selling-vehicle. Motor Trend magazine and an automotive writers association in Texas gave the F-150 truck of the year awards in 2008, he said.
"We're thrilled," Scott said. "The North American Truck of the Year is the third leg of the Triple Crown for us."
The Specialty Equipment Market Association named it the most accessory-friendly pickup. The F-150 also was expected to be named best redesigned vehicle of 2009 by Kelley Blue Book.

Normally, as a blogger, ya' know, I wouldn't use such a long portion of another source. However, since this is practically a PSA for an American vehicle, I think my use of that portion of the article should be treated as our contribution to the auto bailout, don't you?

The only bailout Ohio's voters are going to need will be to save us from the onslaught of speculation about the next two years of politics in our state, previewed by our weekly round-up below.

Does anyone else besides me have a sense that we're going to be reading about "more cuts and a tax hike" a lot this year? Madrigal Maniac is first up with a post about both this week.

Whalertly offers some advice to protesters in Columbus (and anywhere, really), who protest thousands of miles away from the action, regarding how much such a protest accomplishes.

Anytime we hear or read "pay raise," I'd expect that we'd all add a querulous look or question mark to it, much as Rowsey Blog does this week in regard to one that our state legislators considered. Go read the post for Jason's take and also in case you haven't heard about whether they accepted or rejected it (weird thought though: if you know that you are all going to pretty much reject it, isn't the whole thing really just a stunt, to make them look frugal and reality-based?)

Free Market Politics brings us the first of a few submissions related to the announcement by Ohio's senior U.S. Senator and Republican, George Voinovich. FMPolitics then fisks the Plain Dealer's assertion that Voinovich is a fiscal conservative and thanks Wal-Mart for lowering its prescription rates and sending other retailers' script prices lower too.

Lisa Renee at Glass City Jungle (and one of the five Carnival editors) examines Senator Teresa Fedor's dedication in trying to strengthen laws related to Human Trafficking and how that dedication has led to part of the process being completed, in the form of a recent amendment. Then, she discusses how COAST (Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes) is coming to Toledo to try to get a charter change on the ballot here similar to what happened in Cincinnati that would make it impossible to cite people using red light or speed cameras unless a law enforcement officer was personally present to hand out the citation.

I can just envision Just Blowing Smoke's Tim Higgins sitting back and reading his Fractured Fairy Tales: The Little Dutch Boy of Toledo to a group of preschoolers, can't you? His audience for comments on the Obama Economic Plan, however, should probably be a bit more...hmm, well, let me think about what I was going to say about that!

The Cincinnati Beacon brings us an, ahem, graphic image regarding the porn industry's attempt to further seduce the federal government into handing out handouts as well as an open letter to Cincy council member, Greg Harris, in the hope of ending dynastic rule in their city.

Co-Carnival editor Ben Keeler goes Joni Mitchell on us and considers what happens, on both sides now, (or, more likely, on both sides, now) that Voinovich has decided to retire at Keeler Political Report.

Buckeye RINO, another Carnival co-compiler, starts a-charging at newly minted Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish. For those readers who don't like any of the prospects for elected office - including judgeships - who are on the horizon, learn about deadlines and other processes related to municipal elections. There is a lot of great information there so you have no excuse about not knowing how. Finally, Buckeye RINO has spawned Flip4.org with the goal of "flipping" at least four house seats.

John Michael Spinelli of Spinelli On Assignment, is at it again, creating a crossword puzzle that incorporates Ohio politics. And I'm told I'm in there again - oy! He also reviews governors' requests for federal dollars to help out the states, Ohio included and applies some Woody Hayes wisdom to the coming changes in party demographics.

Has Tom Blumer's calculator run out of digit spaces yet? So far, he's at $2.5 trillion — and counting, counting, counting ….. over at Bizzy Blog. Meanwhile, Tom brings back an idea that just won't go away - and I'm not talking about casinos, but it does, thematically, have to do with another just won't go away contender, Ken Blackwell.

Sticking with the theme of bailouts and handouts, the Boring Made Dull (another co-Carnie here) composed this Akron wish list for Bailoutistan.

The Virtuous Republic has some food for thought, after having his appetite whetted by an articla bout the Cincy public schools' food program.

I'm sure I don't know for sure what it means when a city counts twice as many gunshots going off than the year before, by Conservative Culture's note of how the homicide rate actually went down in Lima, even with that shot increase, is worth reading.

If there's nothing else to love about George Voinovich declaring his retirement, then we must love how it's given us something to blog, like Buckeye Punditeers' look at the wide net being cast for replacement candidates, rather than the same old same old inauguration, the bailouts or the Middle East.

As for me? I'd like to hear from the junior senator from Ohio, Sherrod Brown, about the kind of senator he thinks we need - and who best matches that description. And, although a previous contributor isn't so sure about the value of protesting in this country on behalf of foreign populations, I'm not so sure I agree, as you can tell from this and this post.

Thanks to all contributors and readers and stay warm and safe.

Carnival of Ohio Politics #149

2009-01-06T23:15:00.003-05:00

Installment number 149 of the Carnival of Ohio Politics will be our springboard to 2009. Happy New Year, everyone!

Wait a minute . . . "spring" board? This is the dead of winter, so, springboard doesn't quite fit the bill. Hmm . . . how about a snowboard to 2009, instead? Anybody make any New Years' resolutions to become more fit during 2009 by participating in extreme sports, such as snowboarding?

The nifty image to the right happens to be a 2009 model of a women's 149-centimeter snowboard, known as the Capita Womens Saturnia 149 (2009), available for sale at just over 300 smackaroos.

Ready to hit the slopes of 2009 with our 149th Carnival?

OK, here we go!

Let's begin with some tough sledding for Cleveland's proposed Medical Mart/convention center, as Jill Miller Zimon, of Writes Like She Talks, highlights delays that don't bode well. Communication between parties involved in the Medical Mart negotiations appears to be breaking down, as Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson is miffed that he ends up having to read the Plain Dealer to find out some of the details, when he should be in the loop from the get-go. On another note, shouldn't we, the taxpayers, demand more oversight and accountability from charter schools (who receive taxpayer money)? A number of these charter schools were deemed unauditable . . . and some of them were even run by for-profit corporations. Something's not passing the sniff test.

It's not all downhill from here. We've got more tough sledding, namely, the worsening economy, that looms over us all. Some pundits suggest our country needs this tough sledding to teach us to be lean and tighten our belts. Seneca County Blog, however, points out that, unlike East Coast elites, Ohio has been tightening our belts for years now, and it's high time we saw an economic turnaround on the horizon. Frustratingly, our "leaders" lack that vision.

From Spinelli on Assignment, John Michael Spinelli has his own thoughts on leadership and vision. Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur received some accolades for having a vision for Main Street that Wall Street and Washington DC are totally missing. If the GOP is looking for new leadership, should they be looking in the direction of two who lost their latest election races, namely, Ken Blackwell and Sarah Palin?

From Keeler Political Report, Ben Keeler has some unsettling visions from his crystal ball, as he predicts the political twistings and turnings yet to come in 2009. Also, how are the Republicans faring in Summit County as Alex Arshinkoff continues to hold the GOP reins? Not so good, as a Democrat takes over the office of County Engineer, and Dems hold ten of eleven seats on the county council.

The city of Toledo is looking for leadership. There will be a mayoral contest. So far, one candidate hasn't quite cleared up questions about residency. Another candidate has unveiled a "blue-ribbon" economic recovery think tank. Glass City Jungle's Lisa Renee Ward thinks the Toledo Blade may not have listed all the reasons why they discontinued allowing comments in response to online stories. A possibly omitted reason: The Blade doesn't welcome criticism of itself.

Ohio Election Justice Campaign reminds us that voter intimidation hasn't been eradicated in Ohio.

Conservative Culture points out that downturns in the economy make it difficult for voters to swallow tax increases, as Allen County has been mumbling about doing.

Tim Higgins, of Just Blowing Smoke, resolves "to be less tolerant of those choosing to take more" of his money for purposes he didn't approve of. His 2009 New Years' resolutions resonate with me, even though snowboarding isn't among them. He knows how to set his radio dial according to what he wants to listen to, so he doesn't need a "Fairness Doctrine" to guide him. The Constitution was set forth to protect his freedoms, yet he sees that its principles are under assault on many fronts.

Harold D. Thomas, of The Ohio Republic, though himself a patron of the Columbus Symphony, shudders to think what the potential creation of a Federal, cabinet-level, Department of Culture (ostensibly for the purpose of helping the arts to flourish) might portend for our nation. There are instances in the histories of some other nations where such institutions were used for state-sponsored propaganda.

Jeff Lehner, of Free Market Politics, asks us to reflect on Robin Hood economics, whether the Congress should bail out failed states like Ohio, and whether we can rely on Uncle Sam to take care of our retirement via Social Security. To say I have my doubts about Uncle Sam would be an understatement.

Whalertly poses this question: If the Senate can refuse to seat Burris as the junior Senator from Illinois, what else can the Senate do? Could it potentially unseat a George Voinovich or a Sherrod Brown and deprive Ohio of representation if that were the whim of the majority of Senators?

Now it's downhill, as I conclude with a post from Buckeye RINO about an Elyria resident who doesn't want his neighborhood to be victimized by city budget cuts to the police force. He is banding together with neighbors to proactively deter crime.

Bring on 2009!

Last Carnival of 2008!

2008-12-30T21:38:00.003-05:00

If I could go to any one of the many New Year's Eve Countdown's that are out there, I'd head up to Port Clinton. If you watch this video from last year, you'll see how they ring in the New Year, Walleye style...(Make sure your sound is not up too loud.)

With that, I bring you the submissions for the Carnival of Ohio Politics, the final countdown of 2008...

Free Market Politics has some thought provoking posts related to our President elect this week that I recommend heading over to read. A bit closer related to the topic of Ohio is this letter to the editor at the Washington Post in response to their recent article that featured Governor Strickland's five billion dollar request for help.

Who donated to Obama's inauguration in Ohio? Jill Miller Zimon blogs about the searchable list of donors on Writes Like She Talks this week. Jill also sees some bias in how the Plain Dealer reports on the deaths of the politically connected in Ohio.

One of my favorite local blogger's of Just Blowing Smoke, Tim Higgins, stated that this post, Twas the Night Before Christmas was a "stumbling effort at poetry." After reading the submission, if that's stumbling? I only wish I could stumble that well...

The earlier mentioned five billion dollar request also earned some blog space by Tom Blumer on BizzyBlog. Tom does not seem impressed with the concept of asking the federal government to bail out Ohio nor the fact that the promised education plan has not materialized.

While two Ohioans did receive Presidential pardons the question asked on Conservative Culture is why didn't two border patrol agents receive pardons. The lack of logic of pardoning a a cocaine dealer and an embezzler when it's felt there were more valid reasons to pardon Ramos & Compean is expressed very clearly.

Newly appointed Ohio Treasurer Kevin Boyce will be happy to learn that Ben Keeler of the Keeler Political Report has noted the Christmas President Job Upgrade that Boyce received. It's not the blog post that will make him happy, it's that so far, Ben has not found anything to criticize him on, yet.

The Boring Made Dull came up with a creative title for the saga called, "Ohio's Eternal Dannation," Marc "Dannimal House" Dann which creates some interesting visuals for this fan of the movie. Next, the culture of corruption continues, this time related to a Cleveland City Councilman, Michael Polensek. Lastly, it's wondered if the recent increase in Ohio's minimum wage hurts more than it helps considering Ohio's current economic climate.

From me at Glass City Jungle a recent Blade article on the Ohio tax cuts makes me do some looking back to what was said about the tax cuts before. Today I discovered one thing that people no matter their politics enjoy, Music especially when it involves history. It was announced today that an exploratory committee has been formed to create a "Toledo Music Hall of Fame" which given Toledo's rich musical heritage, was a great announcement to end 2008 with.

Thank you to all of you who sent in submissions this week and through the past year. We had a fantastic time in 2008 and I know I can safely speak for the five of us who put together the Carnival each week that we appreciate you as bloggers and look forward to 2009. Happy blogging and Happy New Year!

Carnival of Ohio Politics #147: The Christmas Eve Edition

2008-12-24T13:07:00.002-05:00

Tough to handle, these pre-major religious holiday editions.

For the Christmas observant, something from “A Charlie Brown Christmas”

On a more secular front, Trans Siberian Orchestra:

Count your blessings. On this Christmas Eve edition, give thanks that while we've got Rod Blagojeveich, Marc Dann, Elliot Spitzer, Larry Craig, Freezer Jefferson, Chris Dodd, and Tom DeLay, we don't have anyone on the corruption scale of Robert Mugabe, a Chavez or Castro.

Now to the carnival. First things First: Dogs.

On puppy mills: Kelley Bell's not happy that the OH Legislature lets puppy mill regulation die in session year after year. I'm not sure if the Petland protests are based in fact, but I'd never, ever buy a dog from a pet store.

Jeff from Free Market Politics chips in with pieces on Detroit v Japan, He's also noted that the parasites state employees in Columbus are not happy that there may be a nickel left in your pocket that wasn't taxed away. .And he's not alone in decrying the auto bailout. .Welcome to Bailoutistan! If nothing else, refusal to send GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy will likely consign Detroit into producing nothing but unsalable, politically designed Yugos for years to come.

Ben Keeler has seen the Needle and the Dannage Done. Marc Dann – before Blago, before Spitzer, before Rangel, but not quite before Freezer Jefferson, he set the standard by which political morons must be judged.

It's certainly true that the Republicans were not able to generate any traction from this; a combination of general media section d17 below the fold coverage (though not in Dann's case – everybody from the Gov. on down quickly recognized that this guy was cancer), as well as the general unwillingness to return the Democratic offensive on the “culture of corruption” meme.

Scout notes that Seneca County isn't really interested in managing their budget to expected revenues. Certainly easier to bump up those revenue projectins. Not surprising; when was the last time government expenditure actually decreased? Even in tough times, New York is still increasing expenditures by 1%.

The Dean of Cincinnati comments on Cintas – who may not be practicing safety as they should. He also notes newspaper corrections, and provides a very handy list of links. This last link – to the registered 70 year old sex offender living in a crummy trailer – is what the philosophy types refer to as a conumdrum. Assuming that he's paid his debt to society, as it were, I'm not opposed to a newspaper collecting funds to fix up his trailer home to some sort of minimal human standard. If he hasn't paid the debt, that's a different story.

Carole on Cleveland Real Estate News wants the Gov to show some love to the film industry,. Unfortunately, they're not the only ones in the abatement biz. See the comments – a worthwhile discussion of the abatement issue.

The Ohio Republic notes the police state tactics used on - are you ready for this? A food co-op. Yes, leave people free to buy produce from friends and family, and chaos and anarchy are around the corner. Completely justifies a SWAT style raid. Yup, go in with the big guns over the chance that some unlicensed broccoli may have changed hands. For some reason, which escapes me now, we're all supposed to be dismayed over the low approval ratings for the government.

Just Blowin' Smoke has some Christmas wishes.

Lisa Renee has some thoughts on auto bailoutistan, as well as the differential costs of domestic partner registry. On the downside, she's one hour and 19 – count'em, 19 minutes late.

That's it for this week; I hope that you enjoy your holiday. Thanks to all for the submissions.

Carnival #146

2008-12-17T13:37:00.002-05:00

Welcome to Carnival #146. This week's edition is dedicated to none other than former Indians great Candy Maldonado (1990, 1993-1994), who finished his big league career with 146 homeruns (get it, #146). The Candyman scored the first Indians run ever at Jacobs Field, on April 4, 1994. Maldonado walked in the 8th inning, and scored on Manny Ramirez's double later than inning that tied the season opener at 2, a game the Indians would go on to win in 11. Candy also played for the Dodgers, Giants, Brewers, Blue Jays, Cubs, and Rangers. Recently he has worked for ESPN.

A charter cultural diversity school? That is what Roland Hansen Commentary proposes. Roland says that most, if not all, American public schools incorporate some level of what he proposes, though in a much more limited scope. Would Ohio be bold enough to do this?

Kyle at The Chief Source congratulates Democrat Betty Sutton (13th District) for her recent appointment to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Cornell McCleary at American-Experience: "Showing a rare act of brilliance, the Ohio Legislative Republican caucus, by calling for a Constitutional Convention but not calling for a vote on the matter, pulled a fast one on both anti-convention activist and Democrat legislators." He adds that these types of conventions can be dangerous, but Congress has been the last two decades anyways. A follow up post with more information.

Harold Thomas at The Ohio Republic also reported on the Constitutional Convention and said that it is dead for now. Next up, Harold discusses what he calls an act of arrogance by the Ohio Department of Agriculture involving a Pittsfield Township organic and natural food cooperative. This post updated a couple of weeks later with more details and speculation about what could be next.

Two entries from Jill at Writes Like She Talks. First: The Plain Dealer is sued by arts critic for alleged demotion that resulted from interested parties complaining. Does this sound familiar, she wonders? Next, though most of the auto bailout discussion revolves around Michigan, Ohio is affected as well. Jill posts a little "myth buster."

Glass City Jungle sent three entries this week. T. Boone Pickens came to Toledo recently to try to promote his energy plan - but a few questioned his motives. Kill the Car, Kill the Country, the Detroit Free Press wrote. Not quite everyone agreed, as you can see in the post comments. Lastly, some local bloggers, including Lisa Renee, got some coverage in their local daily paper because of their political blogging and the contribution made to the discussion.

Also three submissions from Free Market Politics. The first is a letter that Jeff wrote to Senator Voinovich that he posted on his blog to share. Basically Jeff tells the Senator that if he supports the $15 billion auto bailout to not count on his vote in 2010. On the same subject, Jeff takes on the thoughts of a liberal Ohio blogger. The final post is a comparison of statements before 11/4/08 and after 11/4/08. I think something happened on that day.

One post from the Cincinnati Beacon. Are some people in Hamilton County getting double taxed for police protection so the sheriff can patrol areas that are more wealthy? Hmmmmm.

Thinking about investing in the upcoming year? Maybe you should hide that money in your mattress instead, opines Seneca County Blog. Money hidden around the house probably would have been better than most investment plans this past year, that is for sure.

Jason Rowsey sends two stories from the Columbus area our way. The first is a sad one - a story from the Dispatch about a teenager who shot his parents over a video game. But on the flip side, he also sent a story about Central Ohio kids doing good. Three local high schools raised approximately $48,000 to buy Christmas presents for needy children in the area, at a time when people are being laid off and the economy is not doing well. Jason helped to spearhead this effort.

Congressional thinking can be compared to Steve Martin's character in The Jerk? Indeed it can, says Tim Higgins at Just Blowing Smoke. Great movie by the way. The auto bailout, bailouts in general, and lack of oversight were big topics this week, as Tim continues on the subject in a second post.

If Chrysler and GM take the auto bailout - boycott them and buy a Ford, writes Divided We Stand, United We Fall. The reason? If Ford declines the taxpayer money, then they deserve the support of American car buyers. If GM and Chrysler take taxpayer money, then they do not deserve that same support. Also some good nostalgic car talk in there.

An update from Bearing Drift Ohio - BDO will experimenting with an all Twitter blog. Good luck!

Conservative Culture: Are the Mosques in Ohio being run by moderates or are they simply a hotbed of Jihadist idealism? CC passes on a story from Oklahoma that thanks an Oklahoma State Trooper and says that the MSM is paying in little attention. A man in Lima gets attacked in his home. Would things have been different if he was a gun owner; would a different message have been sent?

For my part at the Keeler Report, I laughed at a Columbus Dispatch article that stated the obvious about the Ohio 15th Congressional District race.

And that is all.

Carnival of Ohio Politics #145

2008-12-09T21:27:00.011-05:00

If there's one thing that's always distinguished me from my brothers, it's my dislike for science fiction. Still, although they can recite word for word hundreds of episodes of Star Trek, from William Shatner (Kirk) through Scott Bakula (Jonathan Archer)(who I really adored in Quantum Leap), I'm guessing that, since we've aged, I'm not the only sibling in my family who didn't know that IQ-145, a SciFi for the Web-only series, exists. Or that one of its leads is played by the actor who played Jean-Luc Picard's son. Let's do the time warp again, indeed.

Engage.

This week, Free Market Politics examines how and where foreign, non-union automakers thrive as well as the money politics involved for Ford and GM. The blog author also believes that Cleveland-based Lincoln Electric could use tax cuts and more trade opportunities but wonders whether the company will get either of those from the next Congress and President-elect Obama.

Neocon Panic Attack posted the language and link to a petition that protests how banks are receiving billions while workers go unpaid.

What do PETA and Ohio City's fireworks have in common? Did I mention the pregnant lady and the policeman too? You will have to read Whalertly to find out. (This could be a trick enticement, by the way.)

Co-Carnival editor Ben Keeler did some number crunching about the OH-15 race at The Point and wrote a couple of days before the final announcement that it did not look good for Statehouse Rep. Steve Stivers (R) (whose opponent was Mary Jo Kilroy). He followed up with an analysis of the actual results at the Keeler Political Report.

Buckeye Punditeers draws analogies between one judge's raison d'etre for his campaign and an Ohio Supreme Court decision that ordered 1000 provisional votes in the aforementioned OH-15 race to be disregarded. I suspect the theme of the post will continue to be with us for a very long time.

The scandal next door gets attention from Bearing Drift Ohio who also announces his latest effort to acquire some social media savvy.

Living in Ohio gives Just Blowing Smoke's review of the President-elect's "new new deal" gravitas.

BizzyBlog fisks the Columbus Dispatch reporting on revelations related to Ohio government workers' access of Joe Wurzelbacher's state information.

You are going to love this Not Your Ordinary Post about the auto industry! I'm a sucker for the kind of cleverness the Seneca County Blog gives us in that one.

Speaking of Seneca County, however, another Carnival co-editor, Lisa Renee Ward of Glass City Jungle, writes about how the Toledo Blade filed a complaint against that county's commissioners over deleted e-mails.

Rowsey Blog wants to get at the impetus for a story, also in the Dispatch, that he fears might be unnecessarily stoking fear - or might not be. I recommend checking it out and weighing in. Very interesting.

And, from Writes Like She Talks, in these times of reflection about who has contributed to the financial crises and to what extent, I want to examine the same question in regard to Ohio's prison population.

Many thanks to this week's participants and have a great rest of the week.

Carnival of Ohio Politics #144

2008-12-02T22:43:00.003-05:00

If I happen to run across the number 144, instantaneously, the New Testament book of Revelation flashes through my mind, complete with images of Israel, Jerusalem (cityscape photo to the right), and conceptualizations of the New Jerusalem. It may not be politically correct, but, as a lifelong Christian, I guess I'm hardwired that way. 144 is the square of 12. According to some Biblical conjecture, 12 months of the year (the 12th month, December, my fave, has just gotten underway), and 12 tribes of Israel give the number 144 its significance as the measurement of the width of the New Jerusalem's walls (in cubits). Wikipedia says that the telephone number for directory assistance in Israel is 144. Also in Revelation, there's the 144,000 . . . wait a minute, this isn't Carnival post 144,000, . . . it's just Carnival post #144. 144 is a big enough number to boggle my mind . . . I don't need to wrestle with a number as big as 144,000.

Now for some directory assistance to Ohio's blogs that may (or may not) be futuristic, apocalyptic, visionary, and/or revelatory, and may (or may not) be politically correct, but most definitely is political.

Neocon Panic Attacks blog presents us with some Ohio vote tabulation anomalies. Is Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner ready with some explanations?

Brunner's predecessor, Ken Blackwell, may be just the person needed at the helm of the Republican National Committee to destroy the GOP, according to The Ohio Republic. Also, money isn't worth the paper it's written on, so the Fed ought to be destroyed, too.

Bombs in Darke County and Auglaize County? You gotta be kidding me. No laughing matter, though, as Conservative Culture has the sobering story.

Did you think Akron is in Ohio? Did you think Olmsted Falls is in Ohio? The Boring Made Dull reports that these communities are now located in Bailoutistan.

At the Cincinnati Beacon, the Dean of Cincinnati tries to keep the local newspaper honest. Should Barack Obama be identified in the press as multi-racial? Or African-American? Or can each MSM entity make up their own willy-nilly rules?

Roland Hansen Commentary hopes Ted Strickland will receive a Barack Obama appointment so that Lee Fisher will become Ohio Governor. Roland Hansen has coined a new term: Obama Cultural Diversity.

Ben Keeler looks into his crystal ball and sees a pathway cleared for Richard Cordray to make a gubernatorial run in 2014. Check out his other predictions for 2009 and beyond at The Point. The Keeler Political Report tells how doomsday arrived for some downsized Plain Dealer employees.

If you like predictions, Whalertly knows the future of the political parties, major and minor. Party alignments are shifting dramatically.

Just Blowing Smoke hopes that one day, political press conferences will be slimmed down to just the facts. No emotion, no spin, no distraction, no ulterior motive, just facts. Check out the new political diet.

How much right do we have to free speech? Could Ohio be going to the dogs . . . just to make more money? Do smokers cross the Ohio-Michigan border just to get to the other side? Glass City Jungle is not afraid to tackle the most perplexing of questions.

What effect will Obama's healthcare reform proposals have on the looming shortages of general practitioners and emergency room physicians? What will it take to keep the Big 3 automakers operating in Ohio? Will an upgraded transportation infrastructure be the legacy of Pax Obama? There's lots of food for thought written by John Michael Spinelli at ePluribus Media.

By the way, what's the future of education going to be? Rowsey Blog seeks your input.

Obama can make a person drunk. Just ask Bearing Drift Ohio.

Lorain's Law Director, Mark Provenza ought to be trailed by paparazzi to make sure he's not endangering the public with his drunken driving. Better yet, he should just resign as Lorain's "top cop." That's what I have to say at my own blog, Buckeye RINO.

Carnival of Ohio Politics Thanksgiving edition

2008-11-26T21:22:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and while the original one could not be considered to be a bountiful type feast, that many of us enjoy as a yearly tradition, the cornucopia is a symbol that is often used during this season. This goes back to the 5th century BC as a symbol of food and abundance, and if you are wondering how I'm going to possibly transition that into something relevant to the Carnival? It could easily be said that we have a cornucopia of ideas and thoughts that are shared here weekly.

The Madrigal Maniac on the blog also named The Madrigal Maniac found two articles that focused on the musings of Are Social Conservatives Losing Clout. Then his attention turns to a topic of even more seriousness, Soldiers Substance Abuse Counseling Needs Go Unmet. It's clear this will have an impact on Ohio, especially with some of the cuts made in services here at home.

Roland Hansen's thoughts this week on Roland Hansen Commentary that he wanted to share was his being thankful that Sarah Palin was not elected vice president in light of the incident where the media showed turkeys being killed in the background while she was pardoning one of them.

Republicans: It’s time to hang it up is the suggestion by Harold Thomas on The Ohio Republic. In this thought provoking post he suggests America would be best served by a vibrant three-party system and provides his reasoning for that position.

The topic of School Violence is the focus of the first submission by Jason from Rowsey Blog. It's something he plans to continue to write about in the future. The economy next gets some blog space with, Weak Economy Wreaks More Damage Than Money Problems. Jason points out that something many do not realize about a weak economy is the increase in domestic violence and suicide rates that some areas of the country and our state are experiencing.

At Just Blowing Smoke Tim Higgins has his own idea of a Bailout plan that he's sharing with us. It's an interesting list and I see that I'll have to work harder to earn a spot on it.

Can Pot Luck Grow in Ohio? is the question asked by OhioNewsBureau. It's not the type of pot luck you may be thinking about this week, it is the Medical Cannabis Bill or "Ohio Compassionate Act" (S.B.343). Next we have the topic of Tyrannosaurus Republicanus that is felt to be facing extinction.

Ben Keeler sharing some posts from The Point shares one he penned, Welcome back to Columbus, Senator Grendell where it appears the welcome might not be so, welcome. Next a post by Kyle that there could be Good News for Mary Jo Kilroy. Last on a sad note, The Point will be ending soon according to this post, The End of the Run.

According to Jill Miller Zimon of Writes Like She Talks, John Boehner keeps on ticking - and tearing and tanning. For more details on all three of those "T's" read, How Boehner Lives to Die Another Day as House Minority Leader.

Mary Taylor is Right: Joe the Plumber Snoop Should be Fired is the first submission from Tom Blumer at BizzyBlog. I think if the blogosphere had any say, that probably would have happened. Next Tom writes about part of the story related to this data leak that has not gotten a lot of coverage, Joe the Plumber Data Dive Whistle Blower Nearly Invisible. Which he's right, if you had not read the Inspector General's report you might not even know the name "Vanessa Niekamp".

Over at Conservative Culture, the news that Sen. Keith Faber To Number 3 Spot in the Ohio Senate is looked upon with favor. The incorrect reporting related to the False Report About Ohio Mosque Attack points out that despite the truth coming out, some student organizations are still claiming hundreds were injured and that this was some type of a terrorist attack.

While I have enjoyed all of the posts submitted this week, my personal favorite this week was written on Seneca County Blog and not just because it contains quotes from "The Life of Brian". It's about the Birth of a Nation penned by scout639 and it reminds us of one of the most important things that the Pilgrims gave us that we should be thankful for.

On Glass City Jungle the news that the The smoking ban war to begin again this time in the Senate really got things heated up, even though it appears the battle is going to go up in smoke. Over on my other blog, I made the suggestion that those who were shocked by what happened with the whole Palin Turkey Pardoning episode that many Ohio media outlets covered, might want to think about how that turkey on their table got there. I share some great Vegetarian ideas for those who were shocked to discover that turkeys are killed for Thanksgiving.

Thank you to all of you who participated, to all who read and to all who comment...

Carnival of Ohio Politics #142

2008-11-19T22:21:00.001-05:00

Given the current economic scenario here in the new country of Bailoutistan, I humbly present this video, which clearly explains the major theoretical underpinnings of Economics for the beginner.

Now, on to the Carnival! Perhaps a shade too many bailout posts this week, but it seems a non-trivial occurence.

Roland Hansen looks at E. Gordon ~~Getty’s~~ Gee’s pay package. Pretty nice gig for a guy toiling away on the taxpayer’s behalf. Good work if you can get it. If congress is going to start regulating excessive pay packages, maybe they should include state funded universities….

Village Green looks at the attempt to mount a recall election against Akron mayor Don Plusquellic. Now, I’m no fan of Mayor-for-Life Plusquellic, but I’m opposed to recall elections generally. That’s why we have regular elections. Don’t like the mayor? Fine. Run for his job. If he’s crummy enough and the voters suffer, he’ll be gone. While Plusquellic has never met a tax he didn’t like, and his boneheaded sewer scheme clearly identifies him as a chump of the finest water, Akron as a whole is administered in a relatively competent fashion. I kept meaning to blog about this myself… Apologize for the extended vent.

Ben Keeler also looks at the Plusquellic recall, with some details on the mechanics. Ben also chimes in on the potential 2010 match up of Voinovich v Fisher. George has been in the Senate a long time, but Lee Fisher has also been appearing on Ohio ballots since Methuselah was a pup. Ben also provides some reflections on his recent panel appearance in Cleveland on media bias.

Jason Rowsey looks at Ohio school funding – a subject that could easily consume multiple carnivals – he also catches the Columbus Dispatch playing the role of Dr. Obvious, and the inevitable Mayor Prepares for Cuts piece. Why is it that the cuts always seem to involve police and firemen, but never the jobs done by councilmen’s relatives?

Daniel from Buckeye RINO suspects that Newt is setting himself up as GOP kingmaker. I have a lot of respect for Newt, given that he a) actually has ideas; and b) exhibited the tactical smarts to make things happen. That said, if Sarah Palin has a reasonably successful term in AK, and does some basic policy work, Newt’s not going to have much chance in 2012.

Seneca County Blog is tired of Republican whining, and not unjustifiably.

Harold Thomas at The Ohio Republic opines on the Detroit bailout. No shortage of blame to pass out here – everybody qualifies, from Congress to management, to the unions. In our new country of Bailoutistan, only the suckers pay their bills.

But who will bail out the bail-outers? Lisa Renee notes that the mayor of Toledo is busy doing the bailout grovel. She also notes Finkbeiner’s attraction to a tax on grocery bags. Just the plastic ones; apparently, paper is cost-free, environmental-wise. And she points to the never ending support for turnpike tolls. Personally, I think that there’s a lot to be said for toll roads, since I only (theoretically) pay for them when I use them. Sort of like gas taxes. Thank goodness they don’t overlap…

An old favorite from my long defunct Carnival of Economics & Social Policy, DWSUWF, adds some economic news and the now ubiquitous Peter Schiff video.

Tim Higgins is still Just Blowing Smoke, this time over the revival of the “fairness” doctrine.

Since no one else has seen fit to rise to the challenge, I add the what seems to be obligatory post on how just about everyone in Ohio government has searched “Joe the Plumber’s” personal records.

On a sad note, Jill Miller Zimon comments on the passing of Ed Hauser, a Cleveland area fixture. It's a fallen world.

Carnival of Ohio Politics, Post-Election Edition 2008

2008-11-12T16:51:00.001-05:00

Well it was quite a couple of weeks in Ohio. For the first time since 1996, Ohio went "blue" on the national level, choosing Barack Obama over John McCain. Democrats, out of power in the Ohio House for 14 years, retook control last Tuesday. They had only a few seats to win in order to get back in the majority and they did it. Our state also had a plethora of ballot initiatives. Issues 1, 2, 3, and 5 all passed. Issue 6, casino gambling, was shot down again. And of course, there were many local issues as well. It was a period most of us will never forget, win or lose. Here is what Ohio bloggers have been saying about it all.

Bearing Drift-Ohio has three entries this week. The first calls out Governor Strickland over his handling over a state employee using state records to investigate Joe the Plumber. What is next for the GOP after this loss, BDO wonders. This blog says the key is fiscal conservatism and self reliance, not bowing to the social right. BDO also posts a new flag for the GOP.

Over at The Chief Source, site founder Kyle thanked Clinton Democrats for coming together with Obama supporters to work hard in Ohio and bring home the state.

Every thing is complete with the end of the election. What hasn't ended are the questionable words and ideas, writes Conservative Culture. Well, one thing that isn't over is the idea of casinos in Ohio. CC is already looking ahead to 2009, when it may reappear on the ballot in a different form. Finally, there is a battle ripping through the Republican Party. It is evidenced in the way Governor Palin was treated. It will rip through Ohio as well, CC opines.

Another corrupt Toledo politician bites the dust, according to Roland Hansen Commentary. Karyn McConnell Hancock was indicted for stealing over $500,000. The history of politics in the City of Toledo and in Lucas County, Ohio is full of stories like these, says Roland.

Network Weaving congratulates the President-elect and says he won by doing things his way - despite being mocked. The post says that we tend focus on Barack Obama's ethnicity, but he won through his message, his vision, and his leadership.

The Ohio Republic has some thoughts on what transpired on Tuesday for both Republicans and Democrats. The post tells Republicans that "success is never final," as they now find themselves out of power. While he congratulates Obama and the Democrats on their win last Tuesday, Harold says that in the end Obama is just a man and to expect very little change.

John Michael Spinelli of ePluribus Media went to a Joe Biden rally the weekend before the election at Bowling Green University. The wrap is complete with pictures. Next up, a post about the deposition of Mike Connell, a long-time Bush associate. Connell was "very relaxed" but an "obstructionist" when it came time to answer questions about his role in 2004 and 2004 designing Ohio election computer systems.

Jason Rowsey of his self titled Rowsey Blog writes that Governor Strickland is doing the right thing by putting a state employee on leave until an investigation into how "Joe the Plumber's" records were found and distributed is completed.

Seneca County Blog has a roundup of many of the local races there and what went into winning them. Not only did this blog correctly pick the winners, their site traffic skyrocketed. Lesson: Even a small blog can make a big difference.

Buckeye Rino chimes in with three posts. First, he went to see a John McCain and the Straight Talk Express rally in Sandusky. Next, DJW writes about his lack of confidence in the Erie County voting and says there was an atmosphere "simultaneously conducive to both vote fraud and vote suppression." And a little bragging never hurt anyone, as the site says that an Ohio House race prediction made back in April came true last Tuesday.

Tim Higgins at Just Blowing Smoke was also good enough to send three posts this way. The first piece focuses on the Toledo area bus system, TARTA. Lets just say it is not a complimentary piece. In another piece, Tim hits on what he describes as one of his favorite subjects, government inefficiency. Lastly, Tim gave out some Halloween costume suggestions, some that were specific to the Toledo area.

Jill Miller Zimon of Writes Like She Talks has photos and a review of an event from today in Pepper Pike. Jill said it was an interesting gathering but somewhat more sedate than the 2006 version. The second story is about an 80 something woman who went from surgery to the polls to vote on the West Side of Cleveland. Jill also shot some video during her two hour wait while lining up to vote early.

The Cincinnati Beacon points out that Obama is actually the first multiracial president, not the first black president. This website wrote to the Cincinnati Enquirer to ask them to correct a headline they published just after the results were final.

Lastly, at The Point, I am already looking forward to the Senate showdown here in 2010: George Voinovich vs. an unknown Democrat. Kyle had a roundup of Ohio Congressional races, one of which has yet to be decided. The two of us also made a joint appearance on NewsNight Akron last Friday night to discuss the events of the week.

Carnival of Ohio Politics #140

2008-10-29T14:57:00.024-04:00

By the time you read this edition of the carnival, we could be about 140 hours from having a good sense of who, if anybody, accurately predicted the allocation of states, electoral votes and the popular vote between John McCain and Barack Obama. I don't know about you, but I was just describing to someone else that I feel and see the time left between now and then as being similar to what an accordian looks like went it's completely smushed and compressed...and out of air.

Being bloggers such as we are, however, means never being out of air.
(The caption says, "The Hazards of Online Voting")
(from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Our first wind starts with the Roland Hansen Commentary's "Toledo City Council Should Stick To City Business."

Please welcome first-time contributor, My Domestic Church, who provides thoughts about the election and the ballot questions, with a particular interest in the Summit County Clerk of Courts race.

I've been remiss this year regarding the Ohio ballot initiatives, which make me all the more pleased that Whalertly has issued endorsements on issues 1 and 2, on state-wide offices and on local and Franklin county races.

Don't mistake Third Base Politics for being out in left field. The next election cycle starts November 5, you know and DJ Tablesauce is ready already with a gubernatorial endorsement for 2010.

A special thanks to Maggie Thurber at Thurber's Thoughts for taking what we all agree is a very good resource and blogging about it. Hint: remember what I said about being remiss on the issues? If you have been too, you must go to Maggie's post.

The Boring Made Dull really underestimates the attraction of his posts, especially when the topic is as important as education but isn't get much coverage like TBMD gives Akron's Issue 8.

Co-editrix Lisa Renee of Glass City Jungle fills up the quota of three this week. She continues her mission of pointing out selectivity when it comes to the Toledo Blade and politicians, highlights how another paper local to her urges a no vote on Issue 5 and 6, and, finally, writes about An interesting article on why only one local candidate is facing opposition there in Lucas
County.

Ohio Republic has an interesting trio this week: plate tectonics (it is an excellent quick read about political parties), why he didn't vote for President and, if you scratch my back, I'll, er, um, well - I'll let you go read how he finishes that one.

If you're a political blogger in Ohio, it's been hard to miss the stories about out of state influences on our election process. Into My Own looks at Californians calling Ohioans for Obama and considers how John Boehner has injected himself into the state election process but at the federal level. Finally, most of us probably feel too saturated with poll information, but there is a lot of it and it is pretty seductive to follow as Into My Own does here.

Seneca County Blog channels some serious hands-on-hip parenting style in Benjamin E. Nutter, you march yourself right up to your room, which tackles the topic of a commissioner possibly going overboard. I just love the image.

Do prosperity and security go hand in hand? So argues Conservative Culture. More unique local coverage can be read in Allen County Sheriff Disobeys Own Rule. Don'tcha love it when that happens? Lastly, some observations about this season's battles for sustenance of the democratic and squirrel-kind.

The Carnival's Ben Keeler offers three from The Point at Ohio.com this week. An Ohio governmental employee went plumbing to see what kind of clogs might be found in Joe the Plumber's records. Ben's local talk radio lineup gets shuffled and John McCain and Sarah Palin
visit Green High School - Ben was there.

Newly added editor, Daniel Jack Williamson of BuckeyeRINO chats up Annette Butler for Cuyahoga County Prosecutor, Nick Brusky for Lorain County Commissioner and, in just one of several very thorough posts about casinos and gambling in Ohio, makes the Democratic case against Issue 6.

John Michael Spinelli discusses Obama's choice of Ohio for the closing argument speech he gave yesterday, over at e Pluribus Media and twins it with a post about Obama widening his lead over McCain in Ohio.

This final political book map for 2008 has some surprising patterns in it, believes its creator, Valdis Krebs of The Network Thinker. You really need to check it out if you like unique, interactive ways to view information.

If political speech were measured in dollars only, there's little question in my mind that everyone would not view the amount directed toward Barack Obama in the same way. Divided We Stand, United We Fall reflects on the possibilities.

I'm intrigued with the analyses of what's happening county by county in Ohio, how coattail concerns might be playing out given the reported percentage of independents that appear to be going to Obama and will there be an upset in the Ohio 10th, Dennis Kucinich v. Jim Trakas?

Thank you all for participating and please, honestly, I don't care who you vote for, but I really would like to know that as engaged as we all are in blogging politics, that we will also show how engaged we are by voting.

Good luck to all the candidates.

Carnival of Ohio Politics #139

2008-10-21T21:43:00.005-04:00

Who has time to shop around for Halloween costumes when election time is nearly upon us and the political news descends upon us so fast and furious as it does in the swing state of Ohio?

To make it more convenient for bloggers like the contributors to Carnival of Ohio Politics, one needn't rush to the stores to find costumes. One needn't even try to scour up a magic lamp to rub and wish upon. Costumes such as the one pictured can be ordered by way of the internet.

The pictured costume was inspired by the NBC television series "I Dream of Jeannie," which originally aired from 1965 to 1970. The show began with an astronaut serendipitously finding a magic lamp from which a doting genie emerged who was eager to use her magic in an effort to please her new master, the astronaut, but which often led to comic mayhem in the course of doing so.
The series was comprised of a total of 139 episodes.

And on that note, Carnival of Ohio Politics now has 139 episodes of its own.

Kicking off the Carnival, the city of Lorain would like a magic lamp with a genie that would fix the Bascule Bridge that spans the Black River. Businesses in downtown and on the east side of Lorain aren't making money with all the traffic being detoured away from them because the drawbridge hasn't been lowered for MONTHS! The citizens revolted. A rally was held at the bridge. Lorain's merchants and politicians took turns at the microphone impatiently pleading for the Ohio Department of Transportation to fix the drawbridge. The Carnival would like to welcome the Lorain County Photographer's Blog that captured the sights and sounds of the rally in pictures and on video.

You're too late finding a costume if you wanted to be in Tiffin's Halloween parade. The parade's already over with. Never before had politics been mixed with the Halloween parade, but Seneca County Prosecutor Ken Egbert Jr., who is facing a tough re-election challenge from independent Derek DeVine, found a way to weasel into the festivities. He crashed the party by promoting the Victim Assistance Program. The Carnival would like to welcome Seneca County Blog, who will not be supporting the Republican in the County Prosecutor race.

The Carnival's newest editor, from The Boring Made Dull, thinks the City of Cleveland is a bit too cash-strapped to be chipping in a million dollars for a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Tom Blumer of BizzyBlog might not be happy about 2nd Congressional District Representative Jean Schmidt's bailout bill flip-flop, but he earnestly hopes she recuperates from being hit by a car while jogging. Rival politician David Krikorian didn't have the common decency to show any sympathy, but Schmidt's two broken ribs and two broken vertebrae are serious matters. I hope she recovers swiftly.

When Whalertly writes, people read. So, when the blog endorses Dingus and Belskis for Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, Connor and Brown for the 10th Appellate Court, and O'Conner and Sikora for the Ohio Supreme Court, you'd better believe the electorate will take heed.

George Nemeth of Brewed Fresh Daily would like undecideds to view this video to help you make up your mind to vote for Obama.

Conservative Culture isn't voting for Obama. The blog posts one video that expresses doubts about Obama's citizenship and another that assures ACORN will play a prominent role during an Obama presidency. Hamilton County Judge Norbert Nadel has appointed a special prosecutor to investigate potential cases of voter fraud, since Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters has taken a role in the McCain campaign.

The Cincinnati Beacon expresses dissatisfaction that the Democrats didn't field a candidate to challenge Joe Deters for Hamilton County Prosecutor. The Dean of Cincinnati is not happy with Deters nor is he happy with locally-expressed racist sentiments.

State Senator Teresa Fedor, from way up north in Lucas County, also has something to say about Joe Deters, along with the rest of the Ohio Republican Party. "In fact, the Ohio Republican Party has declared war on Ohio’s bipartisan voting processes," she writes while urging universal support for Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's efforts to conduct successful elections. Lisa Renee acquaints us with an apparent non-voting Sandusky County resident who wants to confront McCain to gain 15 minutes of fame. The crowning blog entry from Glass City Jungle this week is Lisa Renee's call to not show favoritism toward any political party in pursuing investigations into potential voter fraud.

At The Point, Ben Keeler notes Ohio Governor Ted Strickland's alarm at ORP election season "scare tactics." Both Ben Keeler and Kyle Kutuchief see echoes of the McCain-Obama contest in the Schuring-Boccieri race to replace retiring Ralph Regula for Ohio's 16 Congressional District, with Keeler noting the narrowness of the polling and uncertainty of the turnout in both contests, and Kutuchief noting the similarity in the talking points between Schuring and McCain as well as between Boccieri and Obama.

Is there wisdom in what a fictional president from television's "West Wing" has to say about divided government? Having one political party controlling Congress and another political party controlling the White House might be in the voters' best interests. Or maybe not. Check out Divided We Stand United We Fall for bits of evidence.

The Ohio Republic offers sympathy for Ohio Democrats who were grieved at election operations in 2004, but this is 2008, and election operations are still worrisome even though Democrats are at the helm this time. Let your out-of-state acquaintances know that the Ohio flag is not an Obama flag. Duh!

John Michael Spinelli of e Pluribus Media demonstrates that too much political advertising confuses rather than informs. Spinelli also notes the uber-partisan battle over the conduct of Ohio's elections has gone way beyond the courtroom, as the Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's website's security was breached. Out of bounds!

We're not done yet with "out of bounds" electioneering. Maggie Thurber of Thurber's Thoughts reports that equipment owned by the Toledo Public Schools was used to produce post cards supporting school levies. The treasurer for the levy committee is an assistant to the superintendent. A number of post cards were distributed to elementary school students, who filled them out so they could be mailed to parents. Not all parents were enamored with the school district for using the students in this manner, to say the least.

And speaking of schools, Wood County is usurping power from Lucas County on the Penta Career Center Board of Education, counter to the proportions between the two counties in terms of enrollment and funding. What's up with that? Roland Hansen Commentary is fleshing out the story that the local print media is bypassing.

Jill Miller Zimon of Writes Like She Talks posts a video of Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner making a television appearance on the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. Jill offers counter arguments to the Columbus Dispatch editorial that endorsed John McCain. Aren't there any POSITIVE election stories on any of Ohio's blogs? All this vitriol is making my head hurt. Aha! Jill offers us all some Chicken Soup for the Swing State Soul. I'm going to need some of that!

Lucky Tim Higgins, of Just Blowing Smoke. He had a chance to briefly escape the election shenanigans in Ohio. He was in Bogota, Colombia. But, guess what? Politics followed him! He was interviewed by the MSM in Colombia. They asked him what he thought of the bailout bill. There has been a shift in how the political parties govern, and Higgins suggests that the Libertarian Party may be on the verge of breaking through to a much more prominent position on the nation's political landscape.

For all the frustrations the campaigns have been dumping on us, Ohioans, I say we should turn the tables and frustrate some lobbyists instead, by voting NO on Issue 6, the casino monopoly issue. Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner may have been pleased with the U.S. Supreme Court, but her image is still tarnished. The final offering this week from my own Buckeye RINO blog is an entry about the ballot box stuffing that uses the cognitively impaired as pawns.

Carnival of Ohio Politics 138

2008-10-15T21:55:00.005-04:00

It is said that a Triakis tetrahedron contains 138 sides, and while it's also clear that I know much more about politics than math, that seemed like an interesting little factoid that I read when I was searching for something about the Number 138. Is that true or is like politics where there could be a little spin? That I won't guarantee but what I can guarantee is here in Ohio, the blogosphere is always a great place to be informed and entertained, so I bring you this week's edition of the Carnival.

Roland from Roland Hansen Commentary asks, have you heard about Angela Zimmann, elected Member of the Governing Board of the Lucas County Educational Service Center, and Barack Obama, Democratic Party Candidate for President of the United States of America? If you haven't, you'll want to read here for more.

The economy has been on the mind of many and over at Whalertly there is a post that examines how the two tax plans proposed by Obama and McCain affect Ohioans. He provides quite a few links as well as some graphics in Taxes Part 2.

Jason over at Rowsey Blog could not help wondering if with all of the concern about the fairness of elections here in Ohio if Carter to the rescue would happen.

Law of Reason has two posts that focus on facts, first related to a race that's here in NWO, District 46 and some of the facts related to some of the campaign ads. Next, Issue 6 is getting a yes vote.

Conservative Culture first focuses on Acorn which has been a hot topic on the blogosphere. Next it's expressed that no doubt we all need to help each other. But that is about charity and lending a helping hand, not about governmental structure. It's felt that Obama revealed to all Ohio that a socialist concept of "Spreading the wealth" around to those behind you is the role of the government exists in his agenda. Maybe in Socialist nation but not in a Republic in a post titled, Obama spread the wealth.

Ben Keeler shares from The Point, a post about a questionable mailer in the 42nd House district starts another GOP flame war in the comment section. Two candidates for the 41st House District square off in their only debate of the campaign, Kyle and Ben both attend sharing their thoughts.

Valdis of Network Weaving has a post on the Neighborhood Team Leader concept. He's also guest blogging at one of the Amazon blogs where he feels his co-bloggers in the Election 2008 special section are fascinating.

Three for the road from Ohio News Bureau, we have Obama debuts Middle Class Rescue Plan here in my hometown of Toledo. Then, McCain calls for an investigation of voter fraud. Last the focus is on Obama and McCain grinding it out in Ohio.

Tim Higgins of Just Blowing Smoke sends his greetings from beautiful Bogota as well as sharing with us Rites of Fall and another recommended post, Flowers & Fertlizer.

Daniel Jack Williamson from Buckeye RINO takes a look at Jeff Wagner who is running for the Ohio House District 81 seat and then focuses on what he feels is an AP Writer writing an editorial on voter fraud instead of a news article. Last, an issue that Daniel has written about previously, more reasons to Vote no on Issue 6.

Kelley from For Whom the Bell Tolls shares her latest post that was featured on Huffington Post, The Welfare Queens of Wall Street.

From Writes Like She Talks Jill shares a post from her live blog on Obama's Middle East policies that was attended by a good many Jews from NE Ohio. Then she turns her attention to political yard signs in her area after seeing her first Nobama sign. The Greene County Sheriff's request then withdrawl related to voter registration also gets Jill's attention.

While here at Glass City Jungle our local Mayor once again creates controversy by placing a full page ad in the local daily thanking Obama but raising concerns related to where did the money come from. Then I can't help wondering how if we are truly interested in voter choice, Why Independent Candidates are not treated fairly as it seems to suggest that the only change we are interested in is only related to an R or a D.

Carnival #137

2008-10-08T23:00:00.000-04:00

IMPORTANT BREAKING NEWS: I’ve just received this shocking video tape of the government agency charged with overseeing Freddie and Fannie, and responsible for the current financial crisis:

Yup, it’s the Ministry of Silly Walks. Makes as much sense as any of the official statements, and actually explains quite a bit about the current mess.

Now back to your regularly scheduled 137th edition of the Carnival of Ohio Politics.

Robert Barga leads off in Whalertly with a piece on father’s rights in the family courts, and notes that it’s poor form to protest custodial decisions through trespassing. No doubt about that; but as a counter point, if they were busy defacing powerplants in the name of stopping global warming, they would have beaten the rap, at least in England.

Roland Hansen notes that Toledo mayoral candidate Keith Wilkowski wants to invest in researching local areas for wind farms to the tune of $50,000.

Daniel Jack Williamson of Buckeye RINO is not impressed with Betty Sutton’s performance on the bailout bill, and endorses David Potter for her seat. He’s also favoring Larry Silcox for Huron County Commissioner. For some reason, he’s skeptical of Sharon Ward’s focus on canoeing as a solution to the county’s budget problems. He’s also not a fan of Seneca County Treasurer Marguerite Bernard’s inability to balance the county checkbook. Can’t understand why that might be a requirement for County Treasurer. Consequently, he’s urging a vote for CPA Damon Alt.

Conservative Culture notes that CNN actually covered the Lima Republican’s debate party, and offers kudos to Keith Cheney, R county chair. CC also notes a Brussels Journal piece on the bailout, and wonders if the current throw-tax-money-at-the-problem-till-the-election’s-over approach might just be worse in the long run. Not exactly directly connected with Ohio politics, but CC notes that finally someone is taking on the environmental disaster that is dihydrogen monoxide.

Ohio Republic notes that some things don’t happen in America, but for Diebold conspiracy nuts, they do happen in Ohio. Not exactly on topic, but I’m a sucker for the Simpsons. Note: the Youtube link doesn’t appear to work, but the Defamer Australia seems to.

The Dean of Cincinnati provides a helpful copy of a ballot showing who’s actually running for President in Ohio. It is, shall we say, a pretty diverse group.

On a similar note, at Progress Ohio, nationofgandhis provides some links to statewide ballot issues and judicial elections.

Tim Higgins from Just Blowing Smoke (is that still legal? I suspect that there’s going to be a very unpleasant visit by some preventative health care czar in Tim’s future) offers a fractured fairytale from the far away land of Toodledeedoo.

Ben Keeler from the Keeler Political Report offers two pieces from The Point – the gig he shares with Kyle Kutuchief. The first is a link to their recent radio time with Ray Horner, and the second is Kyle’s early voting experience. One notes a certain grumpiness about Alex Arshinkoff’s lack of performance in the comments.

To wrap up, I’ve added two pieces from The Boring Made Dull: 1) Ohio’s Zombie proposal for Casino gambling, Issue 6. No matter how many times the voters turn this down, there’s too many Ohioan pockets to be picked for the casino monopolists to go away; and 2) thoughts on Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic’s Sewers to Scholarships proposal.

Thanks to all who contributed; keep those Ohio political posts coming!

Carnival #136

2008-10-01T23:44:00.010-04:00

Welcome to Carnival #136. Hard to believe. Although we aren't quite to that point yet, temperatures in the Ohio blogosphere are sure to rise as we enter the homestretch of the election in this pivotal state. That is just how it goes. Well maybe not for everyone, but for some of us that will be the case. Which leads me to my numerical tie in. The hottest temperature ever recorded was back in September of 1922 in Al 'Aziziyah, Libya. Of course, that record is 136 degrees. I don't get hot easily, but that might be a tad too much for me.

The posts:

First up this week is the The Ohio Republic. According to Harold Thomas's first post, Ohioans led the charge against the now failed bailout. Then with a follow up post, Harold explains why the country needs to hold strong against said bailout because while there may be serious dislocations, it is more important to get it right.

Just Blowing Smoke had thoughts on the bailout as well. What is next, the post at one point wonders. Will the federal bureaucracy be allowed to continue on this path of expansion? Well as of late Wednesday, the answer looks like yes.

Attorneys representing Mike Connell, trusted cyber adviser for the Bush family and various Republican causes, have every reason to delay their client's testimony until after the November election, John Spinelli of ePluribus Media says. Next, are there holes in the petition process for two of the statewide ballot issues?

The CEA Blog checks in with a post that says that charter schools enroll over 9,000 Columbus City Schools students. That is 15% of the potential district enrollment. The post goes on, with charts and graphs, to breakdown the ratings of the charter schools.

Yes or No on Issue 5? Glass City Jungle takes a look at it from both angles (Issue 5 is about the pay day lenders). Next, the Toledo Blade writes two articles on the race factor - and LisaRenee does some historical fact checking.

Where is State School Board member John Bender and why does he seem to lack public responsibility and accountability? That is what Roland Hansen Commentary wants to know. This is a follow up to an August post at RHC; the absence of Bender at a recent event got Roland thinking about it again.

A video camera was ended up being the main story the other night in Delaware County at a scheduled debate between Pat Tiberi and his challenger David Robinson. Kelley of For Whom the Bell Tolls thinks her decision to tape her own debate last year may have stirred up events.

Three entries this week from Daniel Jack Williamson at Buckeye Rino. First, a post that relates to early voting and candidates in the Oberlin College area. Next up, this blogger weighs in on two statewide issues. Yes on 5 (pay day lending), No on 6 (casino gambling) is the recommendation. Lastly, a lengthy post from DJW about his recent appearance on PBS about the Ohio blogosphere.

The redesigned Conservative Culture also has three posts this week. The first post is about a corn maize in the design of Sarah Palin's head by an Ohio farmer. Tying in with Governor Palin, John Husted pushes vouchers for special needs children, a bill opposed by Ohio Governor Strickland. The third entry is an ad by Mike Crites in his race against Rich Cordray for Attorney General. This ad is a take off on the latest Mac ads.

Lastly, two submissions from The Point. I lay out why I think voting over a month before Election Day is irresponsible. Kyle has a post that features the first reelection television spot for Russ Pry, the Democrat who is currently the Summit County Executive.

Carnival of Ohio Politics #135

2008-09-24T13:32:00.008-04:00

Some days, levity is the best we can do and so today, I give you 135 Ways to Ruin the Olympics with Techonology from the popular website, Gizmodo (you can browse through the full gallery of 135 from here). It's a photo-collage of athletes being foiled not by foils but by technology-enhanced competitors in a variety of sports that saw competition in Beijing. I've included my favorite one to the right. I'm sure you'll find one too.

Back to us mere mortal political bloggers.

Roland of Roland Hansen Commentary thinks that there is much more to the 2008 elections than that which we see or hear on television, radio, and newspapers. Taxing My Patience raises a the taxing issue of this year's election.

Kelley Bell's For Whom The Toll Bells tolls this week as an alarm about what she calls the Ohio hurricane in which she uses that metaphor to apply to our state's politics.

A student riot in Miami, Ohio roused Whalertly this week. The post is a good example of getting news through the Carnival that you might not otherwise know about, not to mention a glimpse into genuine emotions that got whipped up over Hurricane Ike's remnants.

How many ways are there to use or alter the use of the phrase, "lipstick on a pig"? I don't know the answer, but Just Blowing Smoke offers up one in his post, Lipstick On A Brick. Meanwhile, The Color Of Money portrays one way in which we can view the goings-on on Wall Street, Capitol Hill and Main Street in the last week, since the collapse of various financial institutions.

Ohio has seen its share of crowds for political candidates this season and Bearing Drift Ohio reports on one outside of the state.

ePluribus Media analyzes whether the Ohio vote can and will be tampered with in 2008 and gives an account of how Ike might just help Ohio.

With election day less than six weeks away, voting concerns are on many bloggers' minds. Conservative Culture discusses the struggle in Ohio over absentee request forms here and here. Finally, something I know I've actually never read about before: some information on how privatizing Ohio's Bureau of Motor Vehicles possibly has led to vulnerabilities in the BMV system that can lead to abuses in providing identification documents.

The Point directs us to the first radio spot for Bill O'Neill, Democratic candidate for OH-14, releases first radio spot, then asks, why are we seeing so many Judge Spicer signs in Summit County? And, as a bit of a bookend to Bearing Drift Ohio's post about a Florida rally, for comparison, here's a primary blogging account of a McCain-Palin rally in the Youngstown area. (Hattip to co-editor Ben Keeler for these posts.)

Many blog readers know I like a good anti-casino rant now and then, but I promise, this one from Buckeye RINO and fellow co-editor Daniel J. Williamson was completely unsolicited.

History Mike gives some perspective to the $700 billion bank bailout that's keeping many of us busy around the blogs.

Co-editor Lisa Renee, at Glass City Jungle, wrote about the recently released unemployment numbers with a deeper look into why some of the states, including Ohio are ranked so high.

This post and this one are about what I've heard from other Ohio voters in regard to their preferences and concerns. And this one is about the elephant in the living room.

Everyone, have a safe and healthy week, and thanks for your participation as always.

Carnival of Ohio Politics #134

2008-09-16T21:04:00.003-04:00

Welcome to the Carnival of Politics #134!

The Reuters photo to the right shows the Democrat presidential nominee, Barack Obama, and the Republican presidential nominee, John McCain. Former Clinton staffer Paul Begala claims that John McCain has 134 former lobbyists serving in the McCain campaign. Barack Obama announced his presidential candidacy after serving just 134 days in the United States Senate.

This photo, though, was taken on September 11th, when not only did the candidates refrain from partisan speeches, but their respective campaign staffs took a day off, too. Obama and McCain visited Ground Zero in New York City during daylight hours, and attended a candidate forum on volunteerism and service that night at Columbia University.

Many in the blogosphere shared somber reflections on September 11th, as well. Thanks for sharing and remembering.

Now, on to the Carnival to see what Ohio's political bloggers have been writing about this past week!

Bearing Drift Ohi o felt gratitude toward volunteers who helped clear the yard of debris as storms ripped through Powell. BDO took issue with some Hollywood celebrity comments about Sarah Palin, and makes a few other pointed comments directed at the entertainment media.

The Ohio Republic declares a pox on both Democrats and Republicans, characterizing their rule as kleptocracy, and recommends either finding a new political party to rule us, or secession of Ohio from the United States.

Lisa Renee at Glass City Jungle reports on volunteer efforts to register those who are homeless as voters AND take it one step further, by informing the homeless voters. Candidates will have an opportunity to address the Town Hall at Tent City in Toledo on October 31st.

TNT--The Network Thinker--is interested to see whether the books Americans read have an impact on elections. Want to see the electoral map broken down by Amazon book orders?

Roland Hansen examines the posturings of the presidential campaigns while wooing Jewish American voters.

JMZ at Writes Like She Talks wonders why the Plain Dealer can't write a more even-handed editorial in recommending Josh Mandel (R) over Bob Belovich (D) for state representative in suburban Cuyahoga County. She also posts about the possibility of mass transportation infrastructure improvements in Ohio in the form of tubular rail.

Speaking of Ohio infrastructure, John Michael Spinelli at E Pluribus Media provides a detailed account of a conference discussing Ohio's need to remake itself to regain its prosperity. Ohio Governor Ted Strickland spoke at length about the challenges and about opportunities on the horizon. Ohio Senate President Bill Harris and Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted also participated.

Conservative Culture points out that it's a bit late to be trying to disqualify someone from the ballot due to a residency issue. It's Hoverman versus Crish for Allen County Sheriff, and the Hoverman campaign is keying in on the residency of Crish. Speaking of residency, will states have to look to each other instead of the Federal government to act on illegal immigration? Will Ohio push through illegal immigration bills similar to Oklahoma's? Or does Ohio aspire to be a destination for illegal immigrants?

Just Blowing Smoke decries the dumbing down of politics, especially in reference to the United Way's building in Toledo, in a post provocatively titled "Lipstick on a Brick." The EPA may become the bureaucracy that shapes our future. Got your pitchforks at the ready?

The Point has one story apiece from each side of the aisle. Ohio GOP leader Kevin DeWine came to Cuyahoga Falls to stump for 42nd District state rep candidate Richard Nero, and Ben Keeler tells how it all went down. Kyle Kutuchief went a little higher up the food chain to report on Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton stumping for presidential candidate Barack Obama in Akron.

At Thurber's Thoughts, Maggie Thurber examines a bill introduced by 49th District State Rep. Matt Szollosi to unionize court workers, and offers some reminders why state law excludes some groups of workers from unionizing even in this unionized state. Thurber also presents a 5-point urban development formula advanced by Samuel R. Staley, an Ohioan who is cofounder and senior fellow at the Buckeye Institute.

The Cincinnati Beacon knows what the politicians are saying. They have video footage of independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader responding to a question about the merits of voting for 3rd party and independent candidates. Also, they report what Paul Hackett advised the Obama campaign to say. Why should anybody listen to advice from WCPO political commentators Paul Hackett (D) and Phil Heimlich (R)? These guys LOST their last political campaigns!

Ouch! I lost my last political campaign, too. There goes my credibility. I'm adding three of my posts to this week's Carnival anyway.

Yours truly, the Buckeye RINO, visited the land "where men are men and women win the Iditarod" this past June. The Alaska Governor who put Alaska's checkbook online could teach a lesson on checkbooks to Seneca County Treasurer Marguerite Bernard, who hasn't been able to balance the county's checkbook in months. Finally, Governor Strickland says it's not time for the state to tap the rainy day fund yet, so I, likewise, encourage families to prepare themselves with their own rainy day stockpiles of food and household goods.

Thanks to all who contributed this week!

--Daniel Jack Williamson

Carnival 133 the most Excellent Carnival edition...

2008-09-10T10:35:00.005-04:00

After writing the email where I dubbed this the "most excellent Carnival edition" I of course could not get the movie, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure out of my head. I tried, but I then decided that it does fit. Politics has those moments where like a movie, you can't believe what you just saw or you know that the magic on the screen is the work of someone behind the screen...Bloggers are at times like movie critics, one of us will love it, another one will hate it, both with reasons why...Now on to the Carnival!

Ben Keeler, one of those who makes the magic behind the screen of the Carnival work, shares some posts from The Point written by he and Kyle. First up Issue 4 pulled off the ballot, which some reviewers applauded and others gave thumbs down on. Kyle interviews 14th District Congressional candidate Bill O'Neill and shares it with readers while Ben is happy about the McCain bounce after the Convention but wants McCain supporters to not act like the election is over.

From Whalertly Robert ponders the act of short skirts being banned in classrooms but allowed on the cheerleaders in the field. I couldn't help thinking, just as in the movies, sex sells when it comes to sports. Now on to money, where an Ohio Court has refused to accept a fine that was paid in pennies.

Daniel Jack Williamson, of the blog, Buckeye Rino takes issue with the way Lorain Democrats sit on their hands as the law director faces his 4th DUI charge. Daniel then notes that he has not seen this much venom from the left since the days when they demonized Newt Gingrich. He is tired of the charges of tokenism. Lastly? He shares his thoughts after attending the Labor Day weekend festivities in Lorain.

Divided We Stand - United We Fall sends in submissions related to both conventions this week, first The Generic Democratic Party Presidential Nomination Acceptance Speech. This title comes from a comparison of Obama’s, JFK’s, and Jimmy Carter’s nomination acceptance speeches. Next in Pondering Palin, it's pointed out that Americans desire for a "citizen legislator" that is one of them still exists. This next piece I found especially thought provoking, it's focus is on both speeches from McCain and Obama with the belief that both men wrapped themselves in the rhetoric of change, then explicitly pitch the proposition that the same partisan bromides that Republicans and Democrats have been flogging for decades, is the change that the public seeks.

On Just Blowing Smoke Tim Higgins comes to a shocking deduction after listening to Chris Redfern on WPSD. When you read Yes Virginia there is a Chris Redfern you'll discover...Tim is a cynic...I warn you though, if you believe in Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy you do not want to read Tim's post.

Jason Rowsey from the Rowsey Blog is back with us with two submissions, a post curious as to your views on the five issues Ohio voters will have to decide on in November, is one. In my mind I thought of the entry music for the Lone ranger with this next post title, The Federal Government to the rescue.

All Ohio public schools should be held accountable for their responsibility of educating ALL Ohio students, says Roland Hansen from Roland Hansen Commentary. He also states that Toledo Public Schools are taking steps in that direction, as they should related to the story of Jack Ford, holding Toledo Public Schools Accountable For ALL Students.

Jill, another member of the Carnival team, of Writes Like She Talks has had a busy week. While she has quite a few posts out there this week, she felt that Sarah Palin settling for the face of feminism while trading in it's soul, made some points she offers up for consideration.

Valdis Krebs made me say "Wow" with some of the submissions he sent in this week from The Network Thinker. Especially this first piece where he looks at some of the actual data mining that is out there comparing the top bundlers of donations to Bush and McCain. If you read only one post, I highly recommend this one. He then turns to asking questions as the proper use of the "know net" when it came to the Palin pick. Still on the topic of Palin, how attacking community organizers created a consequence.

It almost sounds like a movie plot when you read these next few sentences: Ever vigilant... Ohio is near the border though most of us don't think about it. An Albanian attempts to become border patrol illegally... how many might have slipped through the cracks. It's Not though as shared by Conservative Culture. The next two focus on the election, on the Bridge to nowhere, it's felt that Palin made the right executive decision and questions concerning a selective service issue for Obama are raised.

Tim Ferris posting from Save our Lands suggests one idea out of 10,000 little ideas has merit. For those of you who have wondered about possible solutions to reducing the size of Cleveland City Council? Tim believes he has a win win solution. Interested in learning more about reducing the size of quasi-government and government thingers? Then make sure you read, these micro ideas.

Maggie Thurber of Thurbers Thoughts takes direct aim at questions of bias, double standards and intellectually honesty this week. First, on intellectual honesty in reporting campaign news. Then, she points out the double standard many believe the Blade has when it comes to reporting. Lastly? She shares her thoughts after watching some of the piling on Sarah Palin.

From me? An earlier piece I wrote on my other blog, Liberal Common Sense about my reaction and the reaction to other women I knew after receiving a mailing from the Ohio Democratic Party's Campaign for Change pushing abortion as a scare tactic really hit home for me after reading Camille Paglia's recent column in Salon which inspired this post on Glass City Jungle entitled, Feminism should not be a closed club, requiring an ideological litmus test for membership. That said, also from LCS, I'm having a hard time getting piggy with it when it comes to the outrage out there that's being selectively created on Obama's statement. While I think he should have realized it would be twisted, if you watch the video, it is clear he did not reference Palin before making the statement.

A huge thank you to all of you who joined in for this week's Carnival of Ohio Politics, I urge you to visit the posts shared and hope that some fantastic discussion ensues on some of this great material that was submitted this week.

Carnival of Ohio Politics #132

2008-08-27T15:25:00.003-04:00

I am going to cop out and not do a theme this week. I think I broke my hand punching my kitchen counter last night, so typing is painful. There were a ton of good posts this week across the blogosphere.

Kicking things off this week, The Campaign Junkie has two convention related posts. The first one, in which he describes a dream job, comments on what went down early on night one. Part B has the second half of the proceedings which focused mostly on Michelle Obama, before TCJ tapped out after two hours of viewing.

Glass City Jungle asks, is it party time at the conventions? Here is how to find who is footing the bill. Next GCJ takes a look at the seven day window in which people can register to vote and vote absentee in Lucas County. Some interesting points are raised. Issues still exist in the minds of some as to the way the Democratic Primaries went, especially in the caucus states, LisaRenee writes. Features the video "We will not be silenced" by Gigi Gaston.

Two posts from Robert Barga at Whalerty. Even though Obama won the nomination fair and square, all delegates should remember that their job is to represent their state and its citizens, not their own personal views, the first entry states. Who really won at Saddleback? Using his own scoring system, Barga says Obama by quite a bit.

The recently returned Buckeye Rino sends us three entries. In the first submission, Buckeye Rino takes aim at Erie County Commissioner Tom Ferrell and Erie County Auditor Tom Paul. Ferrell is compared to Jimmy Dimora. Ouch. Next are two posts about City of Lorain Law Director Mark Provenza and Lorain Dem. Party Chair Anthony Giardini, "Provenza is Dangerous" and "Provenza Resignation Vigil."

Bearing Drift Ohio has a John Edwards flashback. Complete with video. Delaware borders Virginia? That is what Governor Tim Kaine thinks. Huge rally in Dayton this Friday for McCain when we will find out who his VP is. BDO says this shows that the campaign realizes how important Ohio is.

Is the Lucas County Democratic Party unified? Revisiting a past post, Roland Hansen Commentary wonders about it and if his perspective is correct. Next up the discourse on the two major political parties in Lucas County continues - this time looking at the local Republicans. The story revolves around Chairman Jon Stainbrook and the failure to get Jan Scotland on the ballot.

Four inmates from the Columbiana County Jail tried to escape but were caught. They then had the nerve to complain and whine after getting caught, writes The View From Out Here.

Network Weaving weighs in on the Cuyahoga County corruption. With the PD (who worked hard on the story) cutting back staff, this post alerts us about a new grassroots site that is gathering information about the situation.

Two posts this week from The Ohio Republic. If you are voting for the lesser of two evils in an election, maybe you should rethink things, Harold writes. You have two choices he says: you can leave the President box empty or you can cast a protest vote for a third-party candidate. In a follow up, Harold links to a post from Vermont where the author finds it immoral to participate in this election.

Taxman Blog: 12 school districts in SW Ohio received an "excellent with distinction" ranking from the state (74 total schools statewide got this ranking). All 12 are in Republican leaning areas. Taxman wonders, what is so progressive about bad schools?

Ohio criminals...just fatten up and you will be saved, Conservative Culture writes. Ohio death row inmate Richard Cooey says he is too fat to be executed. Former radio personality Dennis Shreefer hijacks the campaign against State Sen. Keith Faber. CC bets the Democrat is really wishing Shreefer would just go away.

At The Point, I wrote that I was surprised that Ted Strickland came out against the "Healthy Families" Act. Also, Barack Obama tries to stop an ad about William Ayers. Kyle wrote a post about Stephanine Tubbs Jones who passed away last week.

Thanks everyone!

Carnival of Ohio Politics #131

2008-08-20T13:44:00.004-04:00

Okay - I won't pretend to know what the saros cycle really is - it's beyond me at this moment in time (which is another way of saying that I'm still suffering or at least using the excuse of suffering from jet lag as a way to get out of focusing hard on anything I don't already know). But there's a Solar Eclipse Saros Series 131 and I saw a lunar eclipse in Tsfat (aka Tzfat aka Safed aka Sefat aka a bunch of other transliterations for this mid-Gallilee city) and that's close enough for me to the Carnival's 131st appearance. (Photo here courtesy of Simply Jews - my photos of the eclipse haven't been developed yet.)

Here are the never to be eclipsed submissions for this week:

"Is Lucas County going to the dogs?" Some Lucas County residents seem to have that as a goal, says Roland Hansen Commentary, who thinks that it appears that Lucas County Commissioner Ben Konop may be part of that movement.

Want some money back for participation in alternative energy sources? Read about residential solar and wind rebates at Long Live the Village Green. Ever eco-minded, Village Green also tells us about how Polyflow will work to keep plastics out of landfills.

Just Blowing Smoke exmaine the value of democracy, something Ohioans continue to debate when it comes to voting systems among other democratic gears.

Dispassionate Liberal has started his electoral college map analysis, representing each state's size compared to their influence on the presidential race, including where the trends in the polling put Ohio in all this. In his second post, he breaks down Ohio's counties on relative strength of their vote as well.

Betty Sutton (OH-13) does not support drilling but her mailers point out her other energy "accomplishments" according to The Point. Additionally, we get Part II of an interview with Congressman Ralph Regula (I am a sucker for this primary source blogging stuff).

Co-editor of the Carnival, Ben Keeler explains how his trip to the DMV reminded him of the "make checks payable to Ohio Treasurer Cordray thing" at the Keeler Political Report.

I hope you've taken the time to look at Valdis Krebs' political book network map, but if not , here's an update. It's absolutely fascinating (I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff too) (okay, I'm a junkie - you can just imagine how many questions I asked when I was in Israel - for two entire weeks - nothing but questions - it was awesome).

In a post that's too hard to reduce to a single idea, I give you the title from the Cincinnati Beacon's entry this week: Attention Carl Weiser and other coincidence theorists: The 2004 election was stolen!

The Virtuous Republic discusses Camp Washington's Washington in Drag, a story out of Cincy and a good example of why a statewide carnival is so useful (I would not have known of this story otherwise).

I know gas has gone up without a chart, but charts do make things interesting, as Neocon Panic Attacks tries to show this week.

Conserivate Culture's three readings includes two about Ohio radio folks in Former radio personality just can't stay out of his own lime light and in one about a host who "complains but anyone who remembers remembers his bigger government stance" and one that, while not directly related to Ohio, might impact potential Democratic McCain voters.

The View From Out Here looks toward the political obituary for the East Liverpool School Board President by highlighting the events leading up to the citizens turning on him.

Think there's nothing more to say about unemployment? The Taxman Blog thinks otherwise.

Fraudbuster Bob offers us an interview with Greg Palast (I know - not a lot to do with Ohio but I'm using that jet lag excuse re: exerting energy to explain it out of the carnival since the issues discussed affect Ohio.)

Is a five day window that big of a deal? Co-editor Lisa Renee also gives a hint there at Glass City Jungle as to something a few of us are working on locally that involves the homeless and voting. And on the Pay Day Ballot initiative, she offers some thoughts on the content as well as the process we use to pay people to gather signatures.

Threefer from Progress Ohio where it's all Ohio all the time: UPAT: Union Painters Paint A Trumbull County Barn For Obama, UAPL Meeting Room Request and ODP: "Ohio Republican Party Using Voter Suppression Effort as Fundraising Tool."

The Boring Made Dull livens things up with a post about Return of the Election of the Living Undead.

Finally, from the last but not least co-editor Scott Piepho, a well received post about Akron's economy, a cheeky titled post about Bob Fitrakis, and, cue the duh,duh,duh, DUH (no pun intended) music for The Return of the SMH (100% worth the click to see what the hell it's about).

Me? Well - you know, yeah, you do - I was in Israel for two weeks. So you can either go read up on An Ohio Blogger in The Holy Land and see some photos (just getting started) or you can read about how Fannie Lewis' death has led to the appointment of one of Ohio Go Run's graduates, Stephanie Howse to the Ward 7 seat, much to the consternation of the Ward 7 Dem. club.

Thanks and have a great week.

Carnival #130

2008-08-13T01:00:00.003-04:00

This week I was planning on dedicating the 130th Carnival of Ohio Politics to He-Man. He-Man ran for 130 episodes on USA in 1983-1984. When I was a kid, my dad got me the first of those dinosaur carrying cases for your He-Man figures - it was a prototype his company sold the plastic for. Good times for me; I lost it in a week. However, I remembered that the theme LisaRenee used last week was Batman. Seemed repetitive. Then I thought about Kenny Lofton, the former Cleveland Indians outfielder who has 130 career home runs. But I did a Pittsburgh Pirates / baseball theme last time I did this. Channel 130 on XM Radio is POTUS 08. However, I already used that subject when I dedicated Carnival #123 to Chuck Roberts and CNN Headline News for their XM channel designation. So I finally settled on an Olympic theme. One of the biggest threats to the USA winning back the gold in Men's basketball is Lithuania. They also happen to rank #130 in world population. Pictured is Miss Lithuania. Works for me. Lets go.

Tim at Just Blowing Smoke is tired of what has already been a long election year. Probably not alone there. Tim also writes "A Fractured Fairy Tale," which just might be about a locally elected official. Lastly Tim has a separate take on the Ohio Healthy Families Act. Expect to hear much more about this issue in the blogosphere as the election draws near.

And one more time this week here. The Boring Made Dull weighs in as well on the subject, saying a more adequate name for the act would be "Ohioans Seeking to Kill Off Small Business Growth." The post goes on to say mandated employed benefits are not free.

Long Live the Village Green fired off a letter to Sherrod Brown in support of the 10 million solar roof act. LLVG was pleased to get a response (and happy with what it said). The post concludes that if you think the bill is a good idea then write to your senators in support of it.

Is Rich Cordray campaigning or counseling? That is what Tom at Bizzy Blog wants to know. Tom says his concern is about the increased frequency of these events as opposed to their substance - for now.

One entry this week from Harold Thomas at The Ohio Republic - discussing Ted Strickland's reasons (from a video) for supporting Barack Obama. Harold states that while Governor Strickland is correct in his diagnosis, he needs to provide leadership to the state by encouraging residents to "pick themselves up by their own bootstraps."

According to Roland Hansen Commentary, trust in government is an ongoing concern. Toledo councilwoman Lindsay Webb has finally spoken on the issue. However, she is also suggesting changing the city charter as a way in which to constrain Toledo city administration spending rather than city council providing oversight.

Whalerty sends two posts this week. First up, Barga writes about how Obama can win in Ohio and how McCain can stop him from doing so. Second, more people are biking to work in Columbus - but it is a problem. Here is how to fix it.

LisaRenee at Glass City Jungle: The day corn hole came to Toledo, with exclusive video of Governor Ted Strickland speaking to those present that included his belief of what could be accomplished election wise in the Ohio House. Additonally, the payday lending issue was hotly discussed on two threads at GCJ this week - about a press release about questionable behaivor from those gathering signatures and response to a release from Toledo City Councilman Frank Szollosi. Another topic that the blogs will be buzzing about this fall.

"The End of Ohio?" That is a title by a guest poster at The Chief Source. Intriguing read that focuses on Northeast Ohio.

Three posts from Conservative Culture. First up, CC talks about McCain's recent townhall meeting in Lima. While not the perfect candidate, there certainly was much to enjoy about the McCain visit says the post. From the same event, a video on why Barack Obama is like Marc Dann. Where did McCain and his team eat during their visit to Lima? The local Kewpee. McCain himself had a burger, a malt, and pie.

Did the John Edwards scandal that just broke cost Hillary Clinton the Democratic nomination? A comment discussion over this broke out at Bearing Drift Ohio. Virginia Governor and supposed Obama VP short-list member Tim Kaine declared that Barack Obama’s influence caused the cease fire in Georgia. BDO doesn't agree.

Rowsey Blog wants to know if Upper Arlington is that stupid? The UA superintendent has rejected a request from a Hurricane Katrina victim to remain in her school for her senior year. Jason has the details at his blog, where he says this situation is unacceptable.

Lastly, myself. Monday for The Point I interviewed Ralph Regula, Republican from the 16th District, who is leaving the House after 36 years. Also last week, Kyle and I interviewed the candidates vying to replace Regula - John Boccieri and Kirk Schuring (Part II). And at the Keeler Report, I went over an article from the Washington Examiner titled "For Obama, all roads lead to Ohio."

Thanks everyone.

Carnival of Ohio Politics #129 Web Spinning...

2008-08-05T20:21:00.007-04:00

When searching for images related to number "129" I found this Batman cover for issue number 129, "The Web of the Spinner" and it was impossible to resist. Not just because I'm a fan of Batman, but this is the web and at times? Bloggers spin...Hence? Welcome to the web spinning edition of the Carnival of Ohio Politics, will it be a spin or no spin? You decide...

First up Roland Hansen of Roland Hansen Commentary reintroduces his belief that It's about time the citizens of Ohio's Lucas County seriously consider the possibility of changing the composition, structure, and form of local government for Lucas County. Reinventing Ohio's Lucas County Government is his submission.

Kelly Bell's For Whom the Bell Tolls received a post card from her congressman that stated, "Congressman Pat Tiberi: easing the strain on your wallet.” After doing some math, it appears Kelly has a different reaction than what the Congressman wanted when it comes to Tiberi and Taxes.

Over at Just Blowing Smoke our Toledo Mayor's recent actions concerning the Erie Street Market brought back Memories of his youth, that include a favorite of mine, "Spy vs Spy." Then Tim suggests residents of our area should Run for your lives...COSI is back.

Pat Tiberi gets some additional focus over on Blue Bexley where it's pointed out how far Pat Tiberi will go out of his way to
hang out with the President then he follows up with Bush signs bill on airforce. Then, past instances of voter overload with lengthy bond proposals as well as concern that will be repeated in Columbus creates a thought provoking content before this presidential election.

While some maybe thinking about China and the Olympics, Harold Thomas of Ohio Republic points out some facts on China including how many jobs Ohio has lost to China since 2001. It's not a gold medal moment for Ohio...

Ben Keeler has two from The Point, first he and Kyle interviewed both candidates competing in OH-16, Republican Kirk Schuring and Democrat John Boccieri. Then it's pondered how could anyone have been surprised by what happened in Cuyahoga County last week in what is called the Summer Fever of Corruption. Posting from the Keeler Political Report Ben points out the story of an Ohio death row inmate says he is "too fat" to be executed.

From the men at Buckeye Punditeers, we have Bradley's take on Keno, Good run of bad luck. Next Bradley turns his focus to the suggestion that if Kilroy does not win it will be more due to the Columbus Dispatch than her opponent. Michael's post submitted to the carnival focuses on what he's titled, Obama's Tank Moment.

Corruption is the topic from Boring Made Dull, with two posts on the recent events in Cuyahoga County, Culture of Corruption: Cuyahoga Edition and Cuyahgoa County Corruption Probe. It's pointed out that while some of the real estate transfers being looked at could be legal, for what Frank Russo reportedly earns, he has a nice barn...

From Whalertly Blog Robert writes that it's stated that while many complain about fuel prices, few suggest things that would help. He provides 3 things that WOULD decrease gas prices. Slightly off politics but related to Ohio, a focus on Columbus sports teams.

From Glass City Jungle the story of Baldemar Velásquez traveling from Northwestern Ohio to work in the tobacco fields of North Carolina has been something I've been trying to draw attention to. The trial and then the finding of not guilty in the case of Sgt. Joe Chavalia in Lima has been a much debated topic on the Jungle as well as other parts of the blogosophere.

Carnival of Ohio Politics #128: Anyone for Atari?

2008-07-29T22:48:00.016-04:00

Ah yes, the Commodore 128. First, check out this history of Commodore Computer and then of Jack Tramiel:

Tramiel was born as Idek Trzmiel in Łódź, Poland, Europe.

After the Nazi invasion in 1939 his family was transported to the Jewish ghetto in Łódź, where he worked in a garment factory. When the ghettos were liquidated his family was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp. He was examined by Dr. Mengele and selected for a work party, after which he and his father were sent to the labor camp Ahlem near Hanover, while his mother remained at Auschwitz. While in the labor camp his father died from typhus, although Tramiel claims that he was killed by a Nazi injection of gasoline. Tramiel was rescued from the labor camp in April 1945 by the 84th Infantry Division.

In November 1947, Tramiel emigrated to the United States. He soon joined the army, where he learned how to repair office equipment, including typewriters.

Okay, so our contributions this week to the Carnival might not be able to compete quite with Tramiel's story, but still, we have plenty of drama and lots of good writing - although not on typewriters.

"Is This a Way to Elect a President?" asks Roland Hansen Commentary. He wants to know, "Ohio has long had a pivotal role in Presidential elections under the Electoral College process. Would that still be the case if we were to go to a nationwide direct election of President of the United States of America?"

Although a Michigan organization is involved in Law of Reason's post this week, the ad will be played in Ohio and Publius suggests that it is misleading.

Given the proximity of the November 2008 elections, the Ohio Election Justice Campaign's post in which it explains its federal court action to have criminal contempt proceedings for the destruction of ballots from the November '04 elections seems very timely.

Dispassionate Liberal (is that an oxymon asks the very passionate more or less liberal editor) sounds pretty passionate about the impact of the state-wide smoking ban in Ohio.

What else do Ohio's "blue" cities and those with some of the state's highest employment rates have in common? teases The Taxman Blog. Gordon next turns to prognostication and then provides a glimpse at how he did with his prediction.

Conservative Culture offers one take on how to eliminate church shootings, a type of violence which raise questions about Ohio's conceal carry laws. Then he ponders the use and impact of a local paper's headline, "All White Jury Seated in Cop's Trial." And, although I suspect many of us, for a variety of reasons, wish that this wasn't so true, as CC says, former Ohio SOS Blackwell and the 2004 election is still in the news.

The Point continues to thrive: Kyle writes about a backyard event with John Boccieri in Stark County that took place over the weekend, Carnival co-editor Ben chimes in about the Ohio AG race and the supposed scandal, and finally, another story from the Summit County Republican Party.

Must secession be violent? asked one of Ohio Republic's readers, and he responds. With Ohio 6th in US in home foreclosures, it's kind of surprising we don't have even more submissions on that topic. And, on the subject of Ohio Republic's pet topic, the Middlebury Institute/Zogby Poll find that Middle America is most resistant to the idea of secession.

Silly you if you thought that the OSU ticket issue - it's not, reports the blog called whalertly (whose subtitle is "What Really Grinds My Gigantic Notched Wheels"). Admittedly, this rant about words isn't exactly about Ohio, but well, blogs are in the business of words so, this one time. How many times have you wondered why people only complain when decisions go against what they want?

Co-editrix Lisa Renee of Glass City Jungle participated in and reviews for us a conference call that took place yesterday (Tuesday) with Senator Sherrod Brown about President Bush’s visit to Ohio. She also addresses the all-white jury aspect of the same case that that Conservative Culture referenced. Having just spoken on a panel about race and gender at a conference with 900 women, it's a situation that does indeed fit the definition of "a hotly debated issue."

OhioNewsBureau blogger John Michael Spinelli reports at NowPublic about how job cuts at GM add to what he calls a record-breaking streak of sub-par job growth. I don't know about you, but I'm very appreciative of this explanatory post about Karl Rove, blackmail threats, the Ohio AG's office and election lawyers. Spinelli then tackles both the federal government and its concerns with the Ohio Development Awards and efforts to improve electric rate rules.

Progress Ohio's three chosen of its many weekly posts include Fighting the Smears: ORP's Dewine Uses Obama Smears To Fundraise, Ohio GOP'er: Global Warming is "Another Y2K" and Stealing Obama Signs In Upper Arlington, Ohio: "Same As It Ever Was". David Byrne, a Columbus suburb and Barack Obama? Who knew.

One of my personal favorite's in blog titles, The Boring Made Dull keeps the focus very local, and that's great for blogs, I think, in this post about his mayor and sewers - what an unlikely combo. Not?

In Franklin County to the Rescue, Rowsey Blog contemplates the help being offered by that count to assist individuals facing foreclosure.

As for me, I have just one post which asks: how would your respond if anyone, but in particular a blogger and in more specificity, an Ohio blogger from the opposite side of the aisle, tried to intimidate you into not writing about an elected official by suggesting that they'd make personal attacks on you?

Have a great AUGUST! OMG. It's here.

Carnival #127

2008-07-22T16:23:00.007-04:00

Is it just me or is getting a lot more difficult to find a theme as the numbers get higher? If you know anything about me, you would know that I am a huge baseball fan. The 2008 MLB season is the 127th in existence for a nearby team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Of all the stadiums I have been to in baseball, none stacks up against the home of the Pirates, PNC Park. Other great ones I have been fortunate to visit: Camden Yards, Citizens Bank Park, and of course Wrigley Field.

Now, the play of the team on the field is another story for another time. On to the posts.......

Long Live the Village Green has something up about the plan to privatize the Akron sewer system to fund scholarships for local students. LLVG says that public utilities are essential to the health and well-being of our community and this plan should not go forward.

Progress Ohio has three posts for this week. When will Ohio legislators stop being doctors, asks Average Jane in response to House Bill 287. Dave Harding has something on the same subject Next, Gray Hunter discusses the numbers, meaning $, in two Ohio congressional races - OH-12 and OH-18.

What can the public do about an underperforming school board member? That is what Roland Hansen Commentary wonders. In this instance, the question revolves around Joan Kuchinski of the Lucas County Educational Service Center. It's too bad we cannot grade school board members, this post opines.

Two posts from The Ohio Republic. First up is a post about the national debt. If you figure out what it is per household, it is a staggering $455,000. Most Ohioans probably don't have that much saved up to help pay it off. The next topic is a take-off on something found by Independent Ohio AG candidate Robert Owens on a recent appeals court decision on July 15.

Buckeye Punditeers also sent in two submissions. The first discusses Obama and his declaration that he wants to eliminate nuclear weapons. Next up was a post about Ted Strickland. BP says that "Gov. Ted Strickland is perhaps the shrewdest Ohio politician I've seen in my life." The post discusses what Strickland has to do if he really wants to be the "education governor."

It even costs a lot of money to fill up an Ohio made Honda these days says the Squeaky Wheel at Bearing Drift Ohio. Not surprising. Congratulations is in order to BDO's original site for getting credentialed for the Republican National Convention this fall.

The Cincinnati Beacon has a write up on Joe Deters and how his being named a local chair for McCain is causing some controversy. The Beacon has a follow up post as well that quotes Greg Hartman.

Glass City Jungle: Kudos to the Lucas County Democratic Party for recommending someone with some previous election experience as the new Director of our County BOE. Next up, are local elected officials trying to ramp up the pressure on a judge to force her to recognize a union under state law? LisaRenee says they don't have to.

Neocon Panic Attacks posts about a trial in San Diego that has to do with Blackwater - a name that is known in Ohio and all over the country.

At The Chief Source, Kyle went to the Summit County Democratic dinner this past weekend. The speakers were Rich Cordray and Betty Sutton.

Finally, The Point at Ohio.com. Last week Kyle and I were fortunate enough to sit down with Governor Strickland in his office. Here is Part I of the video interview. And Part II. It was a great experience. I also put up my thoughts on the NPR piece that profiled two women in Ohio who are having trouble purchasing meat at the grocery store.

Thanks to everyone who sent something our way.

Carnival of Ohio Politics: Rule #126

2008-07-16T15:16:00.004-04:00

We live in a society of rules and even blogging has it's own set of "unwritten rules" that most of us strive towards. When searching for an image related to 126, I came across "Rule 126" which is one of the elementary cellular automaton rules introduced by Stephen Wolfram in 1983, it's similar to the Sierpinski Triange. I can't claim to be a math expert, but discovering "rules" like this was something I thought would be fun to share. Now on with the Carnival!

While I've just admitted that math is not one of my strong points, having a basic knowledge of the economy is a plus when blogging, this week from Buckeye Punditeers, Michael pens a piece titled, Why Leftist Economic Theory Doesn't Work. In response, Brad pens, Why We're All Liberals and in Defense of Economic Populism. Both are interesting reads that I highly recommend.

The Dean of Cincinnati first looks at the story of McCain Campaign's Dirty Whistleblower? Then the question is, What happened to "innocent until proven guilty"? Which is on the subject of our federal government trying to save money with their policy of terminating Medicaid shortly after a person enters our jails.

Valdis Krebs from The Network Thinker shares a very thought provoking look at How the new FISA law affects us all... The statement made that you only have to worry about FISA if you have Al Qaeda on your speed dial doesn't appear to be true. Then, an interesting post on How the Republicans used existing social networks to win the last two Presidential elections... Karl Rove explains...

The Squeaky Wheel from Bearing Drift Ohio, provides a shocking breaking news story, Tim Russert is still dead. The real question behind the post is the difference in how the media treated Russert's death as opposed to Tony Snow's. Then the focus turns to a recent Tela-Town Hall with Pat Tiberi.

Boring Made Dull has this perky post first, Your Legislators at Perk which looks at what the John Widowfield story could mean. Then a look at Local Government Spending in NE Ohio with a final shared story about Akron Public Schools & Carpenters. The post is about someone getting hammered, but not in the traditional building sense.

From Conservative Culture comes a post in the form of a question, Will Ohio take a hint from Missouri? The issue is related to how Missouri has handled identification from other states to cut down on illegal immigrants.

Divided We Stand first shares, Maddow & Alter: "The New Yorker cover is irresponsible because Americans are too supid to understand it." Then also related to the New Yorker cover, Its up to you New Yorker! New Yorker! I recommend both posts and this one portion of the second one is especially true on how the blogosphere works: "What if everyone was blogging about the New Yorker cover?" I can only respond as did Bomber Pilot John Yossarian: "Then I'd be a damn fool not to".

Continuing with the hard hitting questions being asked in the Ohio blogosphere comes this from The Point, related to the Widowfield story, Should ohio lawmakers have access to Ohio State football tix that the general public does not? Next, another question, will Jon Husted challenge Brunner in 2010 for SoS? Inquiring minds want to know...Last an update on the 16th congressional district.

Jill has some questions of her own this week from Writes Like She Talks where the focus is "Guns galore" How many traffic stop police officer killings will it take? is the first serious question posed. Then, Who will replace Cuyahoga County Dept. of Children and Family Services chief?

I think I should have subtitled this week's edition as the "Questions We want Answers to Edition" as the questions continue from Roland Hansen Commentary on the possible scandal that has been in the Toledo news, Is This The Rise And Fall Of James Hartung as President of the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority or is it an affair to remember?

The Ohio Republic where they first turn their focus to encouraging people to Support HCR 31 (against the North American Union). Next up is the story concerning Ohio election officials may face criminal charges for destroying ballots. Last the topic of Grass-roots "volunteers" being hired raises some questions.

While all of these questions are being asked, Tim Higgings from Just Blowing Smoke has a different mission, which he has been focusing on the past few weeks, his own Search For The Grail. Will Tim find more than vicious rabbits? Stay tuned...This is one you don't want to say Ni! too.

FromWhalertly we are asked; "Is your sky line lacking form, perkiness, and strong, large towers? If so, follow my three-step formula for fixing that" Then Robert points out where he disagrees with me and another fellow Ohio blogger on the topic of Jobs leaving Ohio he makes some valid points.

Over at Glass City Jungle we've had a busy week, from discussing situations where I wonder what our elected officials are thinking like, Pay $200.00 or Your Dog Dies. Then the Widowfield reporting made me wonder how many Electeds from NWO took advantage of the OSU ticket offer.

A big thank you to all who sent in submissions this week, and I hope you all visit, comment and enjoy this week's Carnival of Ohio Politics.

:-)

Carnival of Politics #125: Ode to Blog Edition

2008-07-10T09:16:00.003-04:00

Friends, not these posts! Let us lift our hearts up in more pleasing and joyful blogs!

Beethoven's opus 125 is his Ninth Symphony. In is known as the Chorale Symphony because he included choral passages, defying convention of the day. The third movement in particular, known commonly as the Ode to Joy, is probably his second-best known piece (after the Duhn-da-da-DAAAAHHHH intro to the Fifth) and, along with Carmina Barata, has become synonymous with grand crescendo.

And we have video, of course. In this case, the finale of a classic Leonard Bernstein performance:

We now move from classical music to one of the nation's great classicists -- Tim Higgins starts us of with a paean to Thomas Jefferson. He also notes the utility in spotting what is necessary but not sufficient. Finally, he argues specifically against the ballot proposal guaranteeing paid sick leave.

Ohio Republic goes similarly historical with a reminder of a speech given in Ohio "Against the Degradation of the States."

Roland Hansen wonders if Gov. Ted Strickland is a gambler or a politician (in reference to his advocacy of keno licensing), and ends up concluding that there is little difference.

Lisa Renee also takes up the keno issue, coming to much the same conclusion. She also asks many questions about a Washington Post article about Findlay Ohio, including how the Blade treated the article and how the blogosphere responded to it.

Both Roland and Lisa Renee were responding in part to a Rowsey Blog post covered in last week's Carnival. This week Rowsey blogs about the jobs being sucked out of Ohio.

Publius accuses Sen. Barack Obama of shifting his stance on Ohio's importance in the general election. He also examines the issue of whether Obama and Sen. John McCain are "natural born citizens" and thus eligible to run for President.

At Whaletly Barga rants about Columbus's Red, White and Boom Independence Day festival.

Ben Keeler notes both the new uniform policy adopted by Akron Public Schools and a report of the cost of Cleveland's policy. He also argues against Akron's plan for a free WiFi zone downtown. His counterpart at The Point, Kyle Kutuchief, reports on Ted Strickland stumping for State Sen. John Boccieri.

At the View from Out Here, the blogger takes on Rep. Charlie Wilson's stance against expanded oil exploration rights. He also notes with amusement a local school board president's reaction to the superintendent's vacation.

Bearing Drift Ohio derides a new law requiring environmental impact labels on cars. He also exhorts Americans to be proud of being Americans on Independence Day. Finally, he reports that an African-American cable network will be covering the Democratic convention, but not the Republican.

Valdis Krebs also has thoughts for Independence Day.

OhioNewsBureau offers a round up of possible Election Day concerns from a number of experts. He also reports on efforts by consumer advocates as the state considers utilities deregulation.

The Dean of Cincinnati prescribes a cure for Congressional candidate Vic Wulsin's ills: blowing the whistle on controversial experiments done by the Heimlich Institute. He also offers video regarding McCain, Obama and Blackwater.

Brad Cromes, the liberal half of Buckeye Punditeers, profiles the young Democratic Mayor of Bellefontaine, Ohio.

ProgressOhio offers posts on three events -- Camp Wellstone coming to Ohio, the Human Rights Campaign's Camp Equality and a screening of the film Gas Hole.

Jill Miller Zimon questions whether the Mayor of Bay Village has flip-flopped on Med Mart. She notes a report that changes at the PD have failed to generate web site traffic. And she wonders about a fundraising appeal suggesting that Rep. Josh Mandel is "in trouble."

Finally, a disclaimer on a library tracking program prompts History Mike to meditate on privacy in the age of the PATRIOT Act.

Blogging time has been scarce for me (you might have guessed by the lateness of this Carnival.) But I did note the latest figures on population shifts in Ohio's major cities.