Open Thread
Find out how much money area candidates have raised in the last three months - and how Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning raises all his cash - on today's Inside Washington column here.
Comment on the column - and anything you want - on today's Open Thread.
6 Comments:
at 3:17 PM, July 31, 2006 
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at 8:45 PM, August 01, 2006 
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at 12:11 PM, August 03, 2006 
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at 12:15 PM, August 03, 2006 
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at 2:42 PM, August 03, 2006 
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at 8:16 AM, March 09, 2007 
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Post a Comment*Iran War Bombing/War Next?
Remember when and how the networks and media, egged on by Bush's neocons, hyped the rationale for war in Iraq? - They cited terrorists, WMD, Osama bin Laden/Saddam connection, revenge/payback for 9/11. These statements were either overstated or false, leaving us with 2600 dead military, tens of thousands of our own military as well Iragi citizens maimed physically and pyschologically, as well as debt, deficits, and monetary and moral obligations for the balance of our and our children's lifetimes.
Now those same networks and publications are hyping the need to bomb Iran (3X the size of Iraq) - initiating another pre-emptive war. When is enough enough? Whatever happened to diplomacy? Apparently that is an unknown quantity in this administration. Ms. Rice is either incompetent or ineffective in this area.
Americans, be informed! Be alert! Educate yourselves in the nuances of the world situation, and don't fall for trite slogans and appeals to false patriotism. Flag-waving and jingoism does not make a patriot. A true patriot will consider the long-range effects of actions taken now, recognizing that,in the age of instant communication and global economies, one nation cannot dominate indefinitely, either militarily, economically, culturally or otherwise.
God help us all!
The Cincinnati Beacon
Cincinnati Enquirer: Fire Paid Reporters, Solicit Free Non-Professional Submissions?
Monday, July 31, 2006
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
What’s going on with The Enquirer’s writing staff? Are they firing quality reporters in exchange for a non-professional work-flow between the editors and motivated readers? On the one hand, it may feel empowering to allow citizens the ability to submit news to a major daily—but upon further inspection does the process hold?
According to an anonymous source who claims to work for the Enquirer, since Tom Callinan has become the Editor, the paper has lost many positions, including investigative reporting, computer-assisted reporting, one of our two reporting spots in Columbus, all but “the most repellent” of the columnists, the minority affairs reporter, the movie critic, the music writer, the writing coach, two medical writers, the environment reporter, two business reporters, the photo director, one librarian, and several clerk jobs.
Quite a mouthful, huh?
Also look at the names of solid reporters who no longer grace the Enquirer’s writing staff: under Callinan, the Enquirer has lost Kevin Aldridge, Tom O’Neill, Steve Herppich, Michael Snyder, Larry Nager, John Byczkowski, Ken Alltucker, Robert Anglen, James Pilcher, Cindi Andrews, Christy Arnold, Maggie Downs, and Marla Rose.
Where is everybody going?
Our source also offers another insight into Enquirer employment: “Because we are so obsessed with central planning and filling in calendars months ahead of time, we predictably have front-page stories about veterans on Memorial Day, kids on the first day of school, and the standard fare of Oktoberfest, Chilifest, Paddlefest, Maifest, Clevesfest, Goettafest, Reds fans, Bengals fans, funerals of teenage car-wreck victims, people booking out of town on three-day weekends and so on. Fortunately, in between we can bank on stories about hot weather, cold weather, gas price bellyaching, electric bill bellyaching, suburban sprawl bellyaching, traffic bellyaching, school bullying bellyaching, flu vaccine availability bellyaching and other worn-out topics to eat up news holes.”
Meanwhile, The Enquirer acts like it wants the average reader to have a voice—creating direct marketing schemes disguised as advisory panels.
But the latest Enquirer scheme could be the most scandalous of all—particularly when considered in the context of the brain drain described above: a new ”Community Publishing“ option currently online at nky.com—and slated to potentially be released in Cincinnati in the upcoming months.
The online interface has a pretty specific filter to categorize reader submissions to maximize efficiency for paper editors. (To see screenshots of this submission process without creating an account, visit our NKY Screenshot Gallery.)
Is this the paper’s strategy for not only saving money, but also for the ultimate dumbing down of our intellectual environment? What kind of profile does the Enquirer expect to attract with their “Get Published!” options? Do most readers have the same kind of time and access for quality investigative journalism? (And if a reader did manage to provide such a report, is there any guarantee it would be published?)
From the surface, it looks like The Enquirer is trying to decimate the ranks of quality writers, and boil down their local coverage to announcements and feel good puff-stories authored by our neighbors. What better way to make people feel empowered about their loss of quality information? Maybe we won’t get a complicated report about the abuse of Area TIFs versus Project TIFs in Cincinnati—and what that means for local residents—but in exchange people get the thrill of knowing the person whose name appears in a print. Or even (sakes alive!) being published themselves!
Vanity press, meet major daily paper; major daily, meet vanity press
Democrats & Republicans Agree (!)
It's Fair To Ask Ken Blackwell Why He Won't Release His Tax Returns
Columbus, Ohio - The Ohio Republican Party yesterday joined Democratic and independent voters alike with their admission that Ken Blackwell should answer "why" he is the first gubernatorial candidate in more than 20 years refusing to make his tax returns available to the voters.
According to Gongwer News Service, Ohio Republican Party Communications Director John McClelland yesterday acknowledged that it is "a fair question to ask Ken Blackwell" what Ohio voters might conclude from Blackwell's refusal to make his tax returns available to the public.
"Ask[ed] what conclusion voters might draw from reluctance of the millionaire former radio station owner to disclose the information, Mr. McClelland said: “That’s a fair question to ask Ken Blackwell.”" [Gongwer News Service, 08/02/2006]
"We agree. Ohioans have a right to know how much money their next governor earns and exactly how much he stands to gain if Mr. Blackwell's own misguided tax schemes are implemented," said Strickland for Governor Communications Director Jess Goode. "What is it that Ken Blackwell doesn't want Ohio voters to know?"
Voters already know that Blackwell became a millionaire while serving in public office. And while his salary is set by the state, Blackwell has refused to release tax returns that would reveal his other sources of income or how much he stands to make from his own tax proposals.
We like the open thread. It has gone unnoticed, but, keep it going in the future. Pehaps, once a week !
Maybe even a party open thread. Dem open thread, Rep open Thread, Green open thread, Ind open thread.
Give the system the opportuntiy to be heard without the fishwrap plotting the course ??
What do you think ??
Representative Chabot is on the run from his record—trying to separate himself from his right-wing votes, President Bush and his big-money special-interest contributors. Together, we can make sure he doesn't get far.
We're forming a team of MoveOn members to show up at Rep. Chabot's public appearances to remind voters whose side he is really on. Will you join your local Project Red-Handed team? Click the link to join:
Team: Cincinnati District 1 Red-Handed Team
Sign-Up Here !!
When MoveOn members expose the corruption of the Republican Congress through local media events, it makes a huge difference. Together, we've helped make sure that voters know what Republicans are up to in Washington—supporting big corporations over us. Now we're taking the message of corruption to the most competitive races in the country, including your district.
Here's what Project Red-Handed looks like: armed with giant red hands and signs, MoveOn members will follow Representative Chabot to town hall meetings, appearances and fundraisers to let fellow voters know he's caught red-handed protecting special interests in Washington—not yours.
We'll fill the newspapers with letters to the editor and call into local talk radio with more examples. And we'll back it all up with a database of voting records and campaign contributions. The "red-handed" metaphor provides an iconic image to link the charges we're making and helps them stick in the minds of the media and the public.
We'll connect you with other MoveOn members in your district and provide you with materials. All you need is a bit of time this summer, and an urgent desire to change the direction our country's heading in.
Team: Cincinnati District 1 Red-Handed Team
Sign-Up Here !!
The upcoming November elections are looking more and more like a real opportunity to end Republican domination in Congress, but it will take thousands of us stepping up and taking on new and important roles.
Thanks for all you do.
–Adam, Justin, Matt, Natalie and the Political Action Team
Thursday, August 3rd, 2006
Citizens for Community Values a joke. I have emailed and left voicemails for these people asking them to participate in a town hall type meeting on their proposed legislation. I have also contacted State Senator Clancy from Colerain asking for the same. None of them have even responded. CCV wants to shove their agenda down our throat, they know if we vote on it, they won't be successful.
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