Nosey Online

Justice O'Connor has announced her retirement. I'm sure this will cause the biggest political storm on the blogosphere since the last election. Bush took the time today to speak just about O'Connor's impact, and to ask for a smooth transition process. As the cable bobble heads will undoubtedly talk about this all weekend, there is no reason to start playing the what-if game. Personally, I'm going to wait out the weekend and wait until Bush announces his nominee. Initially, I believe that Bush will not go for someone who is far to the right of O'Connor. He just doesn't have the political capital for that fight. Of course he could surprise me and press the button on a potentially corrosive nominee. We'll see.

Around Cleveland, the biggest news seems to be Bank of America's announced aquisition of MBNA. It's too soon to find out the fate of 2,500 local jobs, but my bet is they're going to be safe.

Bob Taft signed a budget that begins today. No surprise that the wealthiest in Ohio get the biggest tax breaks. And I'm glad that the government is raising the taxes on cigarettes. While I agree with a person's right to smoke, I think it is important to raise taxes on cigarettes because of the significant cost of healthcare for those directly sickened by smoking or second-hand smoke.

All in all, a busier Friday than usual.

I've been meaning to write something prolific the last two days. But it's been so busy around here I just haven't found the time. Instead of explaining to you why I love my country, I'm just going to do something ordinary.

Post to my blog.

This is about as basic as it gets. Freedom gives me the opportunity to express my opinions. That's why I love this place. Happy Fourth of July to you all.

File this one in the "no shit" folder.

Chicago- Too much TV- watching can harm children's ability to learn and even reduce their chances of getting a college degree, three new studies suggest in the latest effort to examine the effects of television on the young.

Critics faulted the research for not adequately considering the content of the TV watched, but experts said it bolsters advice that children shouldn't have TVs in their rooms.

The study also suggested that children with no home computer but TVs in their bedrooms scored lower than children with no TVs in their rooms but do have a home computer. I'd also say that the home computer should probably be in a main living area, not in the kid's room.

Sadly, I believe this to be directly related to the amount of time modern parents have to work in a given week. Often, the television is a replacement for parental involvement. This is just the way it goes. As wages do not rise according to inflation, parents have to work more just to keep a decent standard of living. I'm all about the idea of a stay-at-home parent, but not the Republican ideal stay-at-home parent (i.e. the woman). (By the way, Capitol Buzz is a great blog that has popped on my radar recently)

Bottom line? As wages do not rise (meaning the minimum wage, so this is directed at lower middle class or below), parents will either make less for the same amount of work or have to work twice as much, which keeps them out of the house more. This probably doesn't effect kids from middle class families and up because they tend to have more money for after school activities or babysitters. So if we really care about the kids, let's focus on the root causes of problems studies like this point out.

Eh?

Just as the dinosaurs didn't exist (or lived side by side with Adam and Eve), condoms and sex-ed don't help reduce teen pregnancy or STDs. [/sarcasm]

CHICAGO - A leading group of pediatricians says teenagers need access to birth control and emergency contraception, not the abstinence-only approach to sex education favored by religious groups and President Bush.

The recommendations are part of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ updated teen pregnancy policy.

“Even though there is great enthusiasm in some circles for abstinence-only interventions, the evidence does not support abstinence-only interventions as the best way to keep young people from unintended pregnancy,” said Dr. Jonathan Klein, chairman of the academy committee that wrote the new recommendations.

Teaching abstinence but not birth control makes it more likely that once teenagers initiate sexual activity they will have unsafe sex and contract sexually transmitted diseases, said Dr. S. Paige Hertweck, a pediatric obstetrician-gynecologist at the University of Louisville who provided advice for the report.

The report appears in July’s Pediatrics, being published Tuesday.

It updates a 1998 policy by omitting the statement that “abstinence counseling is an important role for all pediatricians.” The new policy says that while doctors should encourage adolescents to postpone sexual activity, they also should help ensure that all teens — not just those who are sexually active — have access to birth control, including emergency contraception.

The type of fundamentalist ignorance that puts abstinence-only education as the sole plank in any school board's sex-ed debate makes me nauseous. As such...

Citing 2003 government data, the academy’s report says more than 45 percent of high school girls and 48 percent of boys have had sexual intercourse. While teen pregnancy rates have decreased in recent years, about 900,000 U.S. teens get pregnant each year.

Moreover, U.S. teen birth rates are higher than in comparable industrialized countries, which may be partly due to greater access to contraception in some countries, the report said.

Damn liberal heathen doctors have no business giving opinions on proper faith-based medicine!

After eight years of a faith-based presidency (the same type of faith in a Hail Mary pass), the next administration is going to have to appoint a science-based office just to bring us back to the year 2001.

Shit, probably 1981.

Since I promised myself to not talk about anything SCOTUS-related until Bush announced his pick, I really haven't been paying much attention. One thing I learned in the last election cycle was that the more I played the what-if game, the faster I got burned out. That said, I find this whole senario slightly bizarre.

Social conservatives who have said they would oppose or withhold support from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as a Supreme Court nominee stuck to their positions Tuesday, despite President Bush's displeasure with the criticism of his "great friend."

"The president has some close friends whom he trusts and knows well, Gonzales being one of them," said Paul Weyrich, CEO of the Free Congress Foundation and one of several conservatives who have advised the White House not to choose Gonzales to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. "I respect and admire that about the president. But it shouldn't interfere with his judgment. ... I could not explain to my supporters why I would be totally behind a nominee who's taken the kind of positions (Gonzales) has."

"The president is a man of his word and he has said he is not going to stand for judges who legislate from the bench," says Phyllis Schlafly, founder of the Eagle Forum. Gonzales, she says, would be a "supremacist judge ... the type that think whatever they say overrides the other branches" of government.

Schlafly believes Gonzales would be such a justice "because he has said Roe v. Wade is the law of the land and he would enforce it." That 1973 Supreme Court ruling, which many conservatives oppose, made abortion legal nationwide.

Now, for those of you familiar with David Brock's latest work, Weyrich and Schlafly should stand out in your mind as big time social conservative fundies. So it's no surprise to see them pushing for a more radical SCOTUS nominee. What's strange here is that no one would be talking down Gonzales unless he was already on a leaked short list. So we can figure that one out from the start. Something else to chew on is the fact that Rove wouldn't go out of his way to tick off the fundies.

What if this is an orchestrated situation? While the chances of Bush nominating a far right-winger is great, so are the chances of immediately tearing the country apart (I mean a Grand Canyon kind of tear). I know that's the strategy anyway, but immediately causing a political Big Bang is not in the cards. After all, it's taken four decades for the fundie wing of the GOP to take control. Slow and steady wins the race.

Picture this. Bush wants to nominate someone who will push the court to the right. He then nominates someone the social fundies will immediately come out against. A schism like this is something that doesn't happen everyday, and most people on the left are like "Shit, if the fundies are against him/her, then the nominee must be okay!" So then our guard is down, Bush's pick sails through the Senate, and he gets what he wants in the end.

Gonzales isn't even close to being progressive-friendly, let alone a moderate. He would not replace O'Connor's swing vote. A Gonzales appointment, coupled with a Rehnquist replacement, would defintely move the court to the right.

Then that's the ball game. Game, set, match. The effects of a conservative Supreme Court would last far longer then anything a conservative Congress or presidency could enact.

Amid the turmoil and tumult of battle, there may be seeming disorder and yet no real disorder at all; amid confusion and chaos, your array may be without head or tail, yet it will be proof against defeat.

-Sun Tzu

The attack in London this morning should not come as a surprise to anyone. It was bound to happen. I'm sure the right side of the blogosphere will be filled with bloodlust today. One thing to keep in mind, however, is the fact that we're not safer today then we were on 9/11. Obviously the current way of doing things is not working. We can invade all the countries we want, but at the end of the day, the terrorists are still going to be able to pull off these attacks.

In my earlier post today, I surmised that the right side of the blogosphere would be filled with bloodlust today. (Just for clarification sake, bloodlust is not the same as a desire for justice; it is an irrational response) They are not disappointing me in that regard. One thing is clear; they still don't get it. From Captain's Quarters.

If AQ thinks that they can frighten Blair and the British out of the war on terror by bombing London, I believe they are quite mistaken. Another lunatic used terror on Londoners on a much more massive scale for years at a stretch, thinking that the same kind of attacks would panic the British into surrendering, or at least into withdrawing from the conflict. The Blitz did neither. It hardened British resolve to stamp out the cancerous philosophy of fascism and to destroy the governments that used it to oppress their own people, commit genocide on ghastly scales, and attack peaceful civilian populations to further their political goals.

Hitler didn't succeed at his campaign of intimidation. Osama bin Laden won't either. Put simply, the British are not Spaniards. They will arise in fury and a renewed sense of mission to stamp out the bloodthirsty terrorists who have committed this heinous act -- and we will stand with them to do so, just as they have stood with us these long years since 9/11.

When are they going to understand that the terrorists cannot be compared to the likes of Hitler? The war in Iraw is not the same thing as WWII. Do they really think these attacks are an attempt to scare Bush or Blair? That this attack would cause Blair to shrink and hide? No, of course not.

Al Qaeda wants the retaliation. They want our forces to march into the nearest Muslim country. This is what it's all about folks. To say anything else is to be deluded by thoughts of revenge. Make no mistake, those responsible should be brought to justice. However, the terrorists are counting on us for another Iraq, to go much further then necessary. It's a huge recruiting tool.

To repeat, those responsible for the attack in London today should be brought to justice. The terrorist want us to keep invading Muslim countries. They do not think Bush and Blair will back down.

That is what they want. The wingnuts just don't get it.

Maybe now roller hockey will get its due.

SINGAPORE - Baseball and softball weren’t big hits among International Olympic Committee members.

Both American-invented sports were dropped Friday from the program for the 2012 Olympics in London — the first events cut from the Summer Games in 69 years.

Each of the 28 existing sports was put to a secret vote by the IOC, and baseball and softball failed to receive a majority required to stay on the program. The other 26 sports made the cut.

The IOC will consider replacing them with two sports from a list of five: golf, rugby, squash, karate and roller sports. That decision will be made Saturday.

Or maybe scooter football?

Seriously. This is getting old everyday.

Columbus- For the second time in a month, the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation has terminated an investment that lost millions of dollars for the agency.

The BWC announced Thursday that it will liquidate investments with Allegiant Asset Management, a subsidiary of National City Bank, which shows $71 million in losses. About $60 million was lost as a result of Allegiant's management decisions, according to Ennis Knupp, independent consultants examining all of the BWC's investments in the wake of reports of irregularities. [...]

"It appeared to be poor choices and poor decisions with the day-to-day operations of the fund," Jackson said. Asked if BWC should have acted sooner, Jackson said the agency is now weeding out bad investments.

While the fund still remains fully funded, it is painfully clear that the status quo is shit. Personally, I can't wait for the next statewide elections. Let's hope the state Dems can take advantage.

In light of yesterday's bad news, this is something to get happy about.

WASHINGTON — Hiring around the country picked up slightly in June with employers adding 146,000 jobs — helping to push the unemployment rate down to 5 percent, the lowest in nearly four years.

Hopefully this will continue; especially through December of '06 when I finally graduate. I try to be an optimist on some things. Really, I do.

Yes, Atrios, especially when you I first saw the LONDON TERROR graphic behind Paula Zahn last night. After all, who cares about the crusty Supreme Court anyway. We're at war bithces!*

*-said while smoking a cigar and sipping brandy in front of my golden microphone.

That's why we want to know what they're up to.

COLUMBUS - Gov. Bob Taft's office has rejected a Blade request made under the Ohio Open Records Act that asked for the appointment calendars from members of the governor's staff, including former chief of staff Brian Hicks.

"Mr. Hicks' calendar, which contains both personal and professional appointments, was kept for his personal convenience and does not serve to document the activities of the office," the governor's chief legal counsel, Elizabeth Luper Schuster, said in a July 6 letter.

Ms. Schuster justified this decision by citing International Union vs. Voinovich, a 1995 ruling by Ohio's 10th District Court of Appeals.

Written before the dominance of calendar and e-mail programs like Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes, the case states that the governor has no obligation to disclose any appointments because he is not legally required to maintain any records of them.

Attorneys for then-Gov. George Voinovich said he did keep personal calendars "but denies that he utilizes them to document his official actions."

As a result, the ruling concluded that only the official schedules released by the governor's press office qualify as available public records.

State Sen. Marc Dann (D., Youngstown) challenged Mr. Taft's invocation of International Union vs. Voinovich to protect his former chief of staff.

"Brian Hicks was paid by the state of Ohio," he said. "He wasn't the governor's employee. He was the people's employee."

That pretty much sums it up. If our tax dollars are being used to bend us over. I think the public has a right to know. Once again, though, it won't matter. These guys are fixin' to go down hardcore. Take a look at these numbers from Kos.

I've got the following info from a trusted source. It's a Republican poll out of Ohio. But I couldn't get the baseline info on the poll -- pollster and date taken. So take with appropriate grain of salt.

Pollster Unknown. 501 Republicans. 501 Independent and Swing voters. Date unknown. (No trend lines)

501 Republicans voters polled on Republican candidates

Fav / Unfav / Would vote for

Montgomery 49% 39% 44%
Petro 42% 46% 40%
Blackwell 44% 50% 43%

501 Independents and Swing voters polled on Republican candidates.

Fav / Unfav / Would vote for

Montgomery 46% 42% 26%
Petro 54% 33% 42%
Blackwell 22% 60% 23%

Head to head, polling all voters.

Strickland (D) 58
Blackwell (R) 36

Coleman (D) 49
Blackwell (R) 42

Strickland (D) 50
Kasich (R) 41

Coleman (D) 43
Kasich (R) 45

Strickland (D) 51
Petro (R) 44

Coleman (D) 44
Petro (R) 44
Strickland (D) 52
Montgomery (R) 39

Coleman (D) 48
Montgomery (R) 42

[...]

What we are looking at is the complete disintegration of the Ohio Republican Party.

We can only hope.

I've been meaning to post since I got an email announcing this. GrowOhio has already been getting some attention over at Daily Kos, so I'm sure most of you are aware of the site. It's a great idea for a grass roots project, especially when you read this post. All in all, it looks like this could lead to some positive developments for the Democratic party in Ohio. Especially if we're to capitalize on the recent GOP scandals. So give GrowOhio a look.

Asked scared Londoners as they warily returned to work.

Not exactly a portrait of a easily spooked citizenry. My guess is that years of dealing with the IRA has made it harder to turn Britons into rage-filled non-surrender monkeys.

With pictures like this, one has to wonder why the cable news nets have to go all out with the dark red "TERROR" graphics and non-stop coverage. Seems to me that the British are dealing with this just fine. Nonetheless, the news nets assume Americans need to feel like they're not alone. So the terror/fear/bombing/terror/fear pieces must air. But alas, Hurricane Dennis was enough to get CNN to stop the wall to wall London attack coverage. What will Paula talk about now? The sharks again?

And to reinforce my observation, we have this from the Times Online Breaking News section. (no permalink available)

London gets back to business again

It was business as usual in the capital as Londoners shrugged off fears about the terrorist threat to the city. Britain has been put on the highest ever state of terrorist alert, according to reports, with senior police officers warning that the cell responsible for last week's attack could be planning further strikes. Tens of thousands of workers left London offices early after the Tube and bus explosions on Thursday and many took the day off on Friday because of continued travel disruption and security fears.

So after an initial reaction, it only took Londoners four days to get back to "business as usual." It's been 3 and a half years sine 9/11 and we're still no where near normalcy. But then again...

WE'RE AT WAR BITCHES!!!

Sometimes I feel like I’m living in a Twilight Zone episode. You know, the one where you wake up one day and everything is opposite. Night is day, this is not my beautiful house, this is not my beautiful wife kind of thing. Because each time I read the latest piece that seems to suggest the dominoes are about to fall for Karl Rove, a strange sensation resembling a lighting bolt shoots through my head. That strange feeling actually turns out to be my brain telling me that, in fact, I am presently living in the year 2005, not 1995. Because if it were, Karl Rove would have been toast a long time ago.

Lost somewhere in the fabric of space and time is the idea of a media that actually helps hold the government accountable. The last time we saw the media act in this manner, the action needing accountability was a blow job. Fast forward ten years later, we couldn’t have more serious issues to get to the bottom of, and accountability has gone out the window. This is precisely the reason why I read something like this and think, no fucking shit.

Hello, Washington Press Corps. What is the thirty year rule that has defined every White House scandal since Watergate? It is not the crime, it’s the cover-up that gets you in trouble. And this White House has been actively covering up Karl Rove’s role in the Plame leak since 2003.

Karl Rove and Scott McClellan have been lying to you for two years about Rove’s involvement in the Plame leak. Okay? Lying. For two years.

Scott McClellan said “the president knows that Karl Rove wasn’t involved.” Not that “the president knows Karl Rove told Matt Cooper that Ambassador Wilson’s wife was a CIA agent working on weapons of mass destruction but slyly didn’t tell Cooper Plame’s name” — he said “the president knows that Karl Rove wasn’t involved.” That is not true.

Scott McClellan said “There’s nothing, absolutely nothing, brought to our attention to suggest any White House involvement.” He said it was a “ridiculous suggestion” to say that Rove had any involvement in the leak.

In 2003, Karl Rove denied to ABC news about even having any knowledge about the leak. Later he told CNN that “I didn’t know her name and didn’t leak her name.”

Those are statements that would make Lanny Davis blush. Are you really going to let Rove get away with that?

Yes. If it wasn’t for the fact that time, inevitably, moves forward, the Karl Rove story would never see the light of day. As investigations gather speed, all it takes is reading court transcripts to get the big picture. Nowadays, those transcripts are a hell of a lot more informative then anything resembling journalism.

So the reason Karl and Scottie have been able to lie for two years and get away with it? Because sex sells, this story ain't sexy, and most people don't give a shit about the outing of a CIA agent. If you think that’s not the case, then you either lived on Mars during the 90s or you smoke too much weed.

When the name "Taft" and the word "quagmire" are located in the same Plain Dealer headline, you know it can't be good for the lame duck.

Columbus -- In early May -- as Gov. Bob Taft sought to stave off growing questions about investments of the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation -- he nominated the agency's administrator, Jim Conrad, to a national organization as State Official of the Year.

Less than a month later, Conrad was out.

Oops.

Taft's recommendation letter to the National Governors' Association, singing Conrad's praises, was contained in hundreds more pages of documents released by the BWC on Monday in the ongoing investments scandal.

In it, the Republican governor complimented Conrad's leadership, dedication and "fiscally prudent policies and solid investments."

Taft spokesman Mark Rickel said the letter was written "prior to the full realization of all the problems within the BWC Investment Division." He said Conrad did not win the award.

Either Taft is a consummate bullshit artist or, more likely, completely inadequate to run the state. This is a perfect political storm for the Ohio GOP, and it looks like their ship is going down.

The President lied about Rove being a leaker? Well, the rest of the right thinks that it's an endearing quality.

Rove presumably told the President that he was one of the sources of the Plame information long ago. It is interesting that Bush didn't take the path of least resistance and ease Rove out of the administration at the end of his first term. The President's reputation for loyalty to has aides is certainly well-deserved.

Let's put the law aside for a brief moment. At the very least, the protection of Karl Rove could be considered unethical. Going with that conclusion, Rove should be fired and impeachment proceedings should begin. Finally, the administration's M.O. is making headlines (politics above all else) and the media has stopped giving Bush a break. The current administration has used the mainstream media to it's advantage since 9/11. For all intents and purposes, I think the honeymoon period is finally over.

If you don't believe me, go to Crooks and Liars and watch David Gregory at yesterday's press briefing.

After watching yesterday's press briefing, one has to wonder just what kind of strategizing went into preparations for Scott McClellan. If their intent was to not give the press or Democrats anything to write headlines about, then they sure as shit failed miserably. This is more proof that the Bushies are way off their "A" game.

The snowball is becoming an avalanche.

NOTE: See Digby for more of the "A" game theory.

Getting Rove off his A game is almost worth as much as getting him out.

Indeed.

Drudge is linking to this post at GOP.com. It's a reprint of Today's Featured Article at WSJ's Opinion Journal. You may want to shade your eyes, as possible blindness may result.

Democrats and most of the Beltway press corps are baying for Karl Rove's head over his role in exposing a case of CIA nepotism involving Joe Wilson and his wife, Valerie Plame. On the contrary, we'd say the White House political guru deserves a prize--perhaps the next iteration of the "Truth-Telling" award that The Nation magazine bestowed upon Mr. Wilson before the Senate Intelligence Committee exposed him as a fraud.

For Mr. Rove is turning out to be the real "whistleblower" in this whole sorry pseudo-scandal. He's the one who warned Time's Matthew Cooper and other reporters to be wary of Mr. Wilson's credibility. He's the one who told the press the truth that Mr. Wilson had been recommended for the CIA consulting gig by his wife, not by Vice President Dick Cheney as Mr. Wilson was asserting on the airwaves. In short, Mr. Rove provided important background so Americans could understand that Mr. Wilson wasn't a whistleblower but was a partisan trying to discredit the Iraq War in an election campaign. Thank you, Mr. Rove.

Media chants aside, there's no evidence that Mr. Rove broke any laws in telling reporters that Ms. Plame may have played a role in her husband's selection for a 2002 mission to investigate reports that Iraq was seeking uranium ore in Niger. ... But it appears Mr. Rove didn't even know Ms. Plame's name and had only heard about her work at Langley from other journalists.

On the "no underlying crime" point, moreover, no less than the New York Times and Washington Post now agree. So do the 36 major news organizations that filed a legal brief in March aimed at keeping Mr. Cooper and the New York Times's Judith Miller out of jail. ...

In short, Joe Wilson hadn't told the truth about what he'd discovered in Africa, how he'd discovered it, what he'd told the CIA about it, or even why he was sent on the mission. The media and the Kerry campaign promptly abandoned him, though the former never did give as much prominence to his debunking as they did to his original accusations. But if anyone can remember another public figure so entirely and thoroughly discredited, let us know.

If there's any scandal at all here, it is that this entire episode has been allowed to waste so much government time and media attention, not to mention inspire a "special counsel" probe.

Yes, take time to clean up the vomit off your computer.

Ok, ready?

The funny thing is that the lovely folks at the RNC left out a key line from the original article, found here (just type kos@dailykos.com as your email login). The line in question immediately follows the reprinted text at GOP.com.

The Bush Administration is also guilty on this count, since it went along with the appointment of prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald in an election year in order to punt the issue down the road.

Ah, you gotta love the RNC. Anything that remotely criticizes the Bush Administration is doubleplusungood. Even from their own propaganda outlets.

Charles has the latest on the money-laundering officials from Texans for a Republican Majority.

State District Judge Bob Perkins today said he believes two officials with Texans for a Republican Majority should stand trial on felony charges of money laundering.

The judge ruled that the state election code is constitutional and said he disagreed with arguments that the money-laundering charges had to refer to "cash" instead of a $190,000 check that the pair is accused laundering during the 2002 legislative elections.

Perkins, a Democrat who must run for office, referred to his own fundraisers: "All the funds I ever received were checks. In my opinion, funds would include checks."

To which Charles remarks...

Yes, these jokers actually tried to claim that only cash donations (delivered, one presumes, in a brown paper bag) are forbidden by the law. This is on a par with the I didn't say 'Valerie Plame', I said 'Joe Wilson's wife'" defense in terms of insult-the-intelligence capacity.

As far as the right is concerned, Kuff, we're all riding on the short bus.

Chris Redfern must be living in that bizarro world I was talking about the other day.

Columbus- House Democratic Leader Chris Redfern pitched a plan Tuesday to give his party a stronger voice in investigating a burgeoning state investment scandal.

Redfern, of Catawba Island, said Republican support for his proposal couldn't hurt in swaying pivotal Democratic votes for Gov. Bob Taft's stalled Third Frontier initiative.

House Chief of Staff Scott Borgemenke said Democratic votes are "extremely important" to getting the governor's high-tech bond proposal to November's ballot - and Republicans are listening.

He said that Redfern and Speaker Jon Husted, a suburban Dayton Republican, have had "several productive discussions" and that he hopes to negotiate a compromise before lawmakers return in August.

Redfern's bill would create a joint legislative committee evenly split between the two political parties to review the investment practices of the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation. The plan also would give a Democratic co-chair the same subpoena power normally reserved for a GOP-appointed chair.

Good idea, but it's got no chance of every seeing the light of day.

Redfern said his committee proposal would signal to Ohioans that lawmakers want true reform.

"It's one-party rule that has really created this environment," he said, noting that every statewide elected official involved in the Noe investigation is Republican.

Senate President Bill Harris, an Ashland Republican, said a committee of two Republicans and one Democrat from each chamber is already in place - and he sees no need to change its makeup. [...]

"It's hard to accept sometimes, but the electorate voted Republicans in by the majority and, by being in the majority, we are in charge," Harris said.

Exactly. This is why the BWC scandal and coingate will flow like molassess through state legislature investigations. Only an active local press and a reactive citizenry will get the GOP bums out of office. Don't expect those who live in glass houses to ever throw stones. Or is it the one about cutting off your nose to spite your face?

This is why we have to Grow Ohio.

How fast they've spinned Karl into some sort of Patriotic Whistleblower Spirit and Guts Real American Hero.

Too bad the right's history with whistleblowers just ain't that great.

Coleen Rowley has an opinion on this as any of us do and you may be fooled into thinking that because she is a field agent in the FBI that her opinion is somehow more informed than yours but you would be wrong. Is Rowley an expert on war? No. Terrorism? No. Rowley is the chief lawyer of the FBI's Minneapolis office. This makes her an expert on writing page after page of drivel, but nothing more.

Coleen - shut up already.

This is good news. Of course the public should be allowed to know exactly what is going on with the public's money.

Columbus - The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation must produce records that show the purchase and sale price of each rare coin in its investment portfolio, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

"The public has an unquestioned financial interest in a state agency's and state administrator's investment of public funds," Justice Alice Robie Resnick wrote for the 5-2 majority.

She rejected BWC's argument that the information constituted a trade secret and its disclosure could hurt the state's ability to recover some of the money.

Bottom line? The public has a right to know. Glad to see that axiom still holds true.

They can try to protect him all they want, but Bob Taft will have to answer for every mess allowed on his watch.

Columbus -- Gov. Bob Taft's lawyers scrambled Wednesday to prevent the questioning of the governor and five key aides about their knowledge of an investment scandal at the state Bureau of Workers' Compensation.

Senior Deputy Attorney General Arthur Marziale Jr. wrote a late-afternoon letter declining all six depositions requested by Sen. Marc Dann, arguing that Dann's lawsuit seeking access to communications between the bureau and the governor's office "is not about past occurrences. . . . Rather, it is about the privileges asserted by the Governor's Office" in keeping the records closed. [...]

Dann, a Democrat from Liberty Township, said the Ohio Supreme Court will decide who must appear. He said Conrad and Hicks are being subpoenaed separately.

"Bob Taft has to come out of hiding at some point," Dann said. "The people of Ohio deserve a lot of explanations, including why [the officials] think documents created in the course of their public duties are somehow not available to the public."

As the latest development in the investment scandal unfolded, Taft made his first public appearance in more than a week far from the glaring scrutiny of Capitol Square: in the peaceful foothills of Appalachia.

The governor and first lady Hope Taft spent the morning visiting artisans in rolling Morgan County's developing Hickory Ridge corridor.

Taft said he was unaware of the latest SurveyUSA poll, which found that his approval rating had fallen to a new low of 17 percent. The numbers left Taft 50th among governors.

Spokesman Mark Rickel later said: "We don't govern by polls, we govern by results. The governor is proud of the results accomplished by his school-building program, his highway reconstruction program, the Third Frontier program and the improved economy that will result from the recent reform of Ohio's tax code."

Blah, blah, blah. How can they ignore repugnant poll numbers like this. It is truly disgraceful to have such an unpopular governor act this way. Too bad we don't have a recall provision. But look at the bright side, even if Taft won't face political reaction for this, the rest of the state GOP surely will.

I'm participating in the public beta for Movable Type 3.2. Hopefully, as I work on my beta blog, I'll be designing a new overall look for Nosey Online. So far, however, and as to be expected, the beta release is real shaky. Anyway, I'll let you know how it goes.

While watching The Daily Show last night, I really got the feeling that the only reason Bernard Goldberg wrote that book was to put a dig at Al Franken on the cover. That guy is such a gas bag.

What's worse?

The lyrics "bitches ain't nothing but hos and tricks".

or

A president who gives us a bullshit war.

Hollywood is sooo fucking this country up.

Well, I've read Krugman's latest. While I must say that it's ABSOLUTELY NOTHING I HAVEN'T ALREADY FRIGGIN' FIGURED OUT, AND THAT ANYONE WITH A GRADE SCHOOL EDUCATION SHOULD KNOW, cough, I'd like to reprint my favorite part.

And now we know just how far he was willing to go with these smear tactics: as part of the effort to discredit Joseph Wilson IV, Mr. Rove leaked the fact that Mr. Wilson's wife worked for the C.I.A. I don't know whether Mr. Rove can be convicted of a crime, but there's no question that he damaged national security for partisan advantage. If a Democrat had done that, Republicans would call it treason.

But what we're getting, instead, is yet another impressive demonstration that these days, truth is political. One after another, prominent Republicans and conservative pundits have declared their allegiance to the party line. They haven't just gone along with the diversionary tactics, like the irrelevant questions about whether Mr. Rove used Valerie Wilson's name in identifying her (Robert Novak later identified her by her maiden name, Valerie Plame), or the false, easily refuted claim that Mr. Wilson lied about who sent him to Niger. They're now a chorus, praising Mr. Rove as a patriotic whistle-blower.

Ultimately, this isn't just about Mr. Rove. It's also about Mr. Bush, who has always known that his trusted political adviser - a disciple of the late Lee Atwater, whose smear tactics helped President Bush's father win the 1988 election - is a thug, and obviously made no attempt to find out if he was the leaker.

Most of all, it's about what has happened to America. How did our political system get to this point?

Cheese whiz, the cocaine 80's, and reality TV.

Obviously.

There's a time in a young man's life when he finally drops the charade and figures out that father knows best. Hopefully that will happen for me soon, but until then, I guess I'll just have to fake it.

Heh.

Just kidding Dad. I love you, happy birthday.

Sorry for the lack of posts today. I just got back home from spending the afternoon with my family. More tomorrow.

Another reason to dislike the fact that the company's voting machines are used here in Ohio.

Columbus - A member of the Franklin County election board said Friday that prosecutors are investigating whether a GOP political consultant tried to bribe the board's director to buy voting equipment made by his client, Diebold Inc.

The director, Matthew Damschroder, has told prosecutors that the consultant, Pat Gallina, came to his office in early 2004, offering him $10,000.

"Pat Gallina came into my office at the Board of Elections and said, 'I'm here to give you $10,000. Who should I direct it to?' " Damschroder recalled. "I said, 'Certainly not to me. But I'm sure the Franklin County Republican Party would appreciate a voluntary donation. That was my first mistake." [...]

ES&S charges in that suit that Secretary of State Ken Blackwell improperly favored Diebold in selecting electronic voting machines for use statewide. Political consultant Norman Cummings, a Blackwell campaign adviser, is scheduled to give a deposition shortly in that case.

Damschroder said Cummings' name came up in his office conversation with Gallina, who said he had met Cummings recently in the Washington, D.C., area. Gallina told him that he and Cummings agreed on the cut-rate price Diebold would charge the state for its machines, and that Gallina promised in return to give $50,000 to "Blackwell interests."

Carlo LoParo, a spokesman for Blackwell, called the claim "absolutely ridiculous," and that Cummings has not negotiated any part of the state's voting machine contracts.

During the same month that Gallina gave $10,000 to the Franklin County GOP, he gave another $10,000 to Blackwell's anti-tax group, Citizens for Tax Repeal, which was formed to repeal a penny-on-the-dollar sales tax hike approved in 2003 by the Ohio Legislature. [...]

Diebold executives had ceased contributing directly to political campaigns in October 2003, after the company president sparked an uproar by saying he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes" to secure President Bush's re-election.

No matter what, this stinks. Everytime I read an article related to GOP scandals here in Ohio, I'm reminded that indeed, we can vote these bums out of office. Now if only people from southern Ohio would wake up and smell the coffee.

From MSNBC.com's First Read:

Will the White House introduce its SCOTUS nominee during the thick of the Plame leak investigation? The Washington Post reports that President Bush may announce his pick as early as this week, rather than next week. That would be a big effort to change the subject -- and might well succeed. It would also "prove" that the White House is not distracted by the Rove controversy, and possibly force Senate Democratic critics to tone it down in the interest of having that much talked about, dignified confirmation debate. Presumably, it would also be a sign that the White House is confident that no other memos or damaging material about the Plame leak will come to light during the SCOTUS debate.

First off, the Plame leak was news 2 years ago, and it's news now. That proves it has staying power, no matter how long it runs under the radar. Bush's SCOTUS nominee might prove to be a short term diversion, but the Plame investigation will go on. To assume anything different is to insult our intelliegence. Yes, the SCOTUS nominee could have one of those country-splitting effects, but it will not dominate the news cycle forever.

One has to assume that where there's smoke, there's fire. Just because a second fire might break out somewhere else, that doesn't mean the first fire won't be fought.

One thing I got to experience in California was the car pool lane. Watching cars and trucks zipping by while sitting in dead stop traffic was enough to make me evaluate my transportation situation. But alas, I returned to Ohio's congested roads and non-carpool lane highways. With that in mind, I read this article with great interest.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Instead of crawling out of bed at 4 a.m. to beat the morning rush, Frank Murphy sleeps late these days. He says he owes it all to his hybrid car — and a law that has some of his fellow commuters upset.

Drivers of the environmentally friendly cars are allowed to cruise solo in Virginia’s car pool lanes, slicing Murphy’s daily two-hour commute in half. And since buying a hybrid 18 months ago, Murphy is leaving his home as much as three hours later.

“The quality of life has gone up tremendously,” he said.

I have a lot of sympathy for this guy. And the natural tendency for non-hybrid car owners to get jealous is expected.

But Murphy’s joy is a source of irritation for his co-worker, Kristine Johnson, who does not own a hybrid. To travel in the car pool lane, she lingers at a commuter lot until two strangers agree to ride with her.

The inconvenience pays off less than it used to: Johnson complains that hybrids are making car pool lanes as congested as regular lanes.

“It’s not fair,” Johnson said. “In the afternoon it’s all hybrids around me. I used to be able to go home in 30 minutes. Now it takes 45.”

Yeah, I know, 15 minutes really ain't that big a deal. However, this did get me thinking. But first, here's more.

In April 2003, about 2,500 hybrid drivers in Virginia registered their cars and asked for “clean fuel” license plates, allowing them to use the car pool lanes, Morris said. By May of this year, the number had more than tripled — to about 9,000.

That's a pretty big increase for cars sharing one lane of highway. It goes against the basic principle of the car pool lane.

The HOV lane was created for two reasons, and both are inter-related. Reducing traffic, and therefore reducing pollution. But does allowing people who buy hybrid cars into the fast lane really help things. State officials might have an altruistic vision of people buying only hybrid cars, but does clogging the very reason to switch really fulfill that dream?

I've been doing a little research online, trying to find the average yearly output of greenhouse gas coming out of the Toyota Prius. Turns out, the Prius emits out about 5,100 pounds of greenhouse gas every year. If the average midsize car puts out, say, 13,000 pounds per year, it really doesn't make sense to encourage individuals to purchase a hybrid just to cut down on their commute time. If four people car pooling in my Sentra account for 13,000 pounds of greenhouse gas, the same number of people separately driving a Prius would push that output up to ~20,000 pounds. So where's the advantage?

At first glance, the basic idea of allowing hybrid owners into the car pool lane is commendable; in practice it just doesn't make sense. It completely allows state governments to put a band-aid on an deep open wound. Traffic is getting worse while greenhouse gas emissions are on the rise. Highways full of zero emission vehicles is the the key, but we're a long way off from that.

If people want to buy a hybrid (and I'm one of those), they should do it for the altruistic reason. If your main concern is stop-and-go highway traffic, either don't live in highly populated areas or take mass transit. The car pool lane should be for just that; car pools.

Seems that the Bush Administration has adopted a new tactic in the Rove-Plame spin game.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush said Monday that if anyone in his administration committed a crime in connection with the public leak of the identity of an undercover CIA operative, that person will "no longer work in my administration." At the same time, Bush again sidestepped a question on the role of his top political adviser, Karl Rove, in the matter.

"We have a serious ongoing investigation here and it's being played out in the press," Bush said at an East Room news conference.

Oh sweet, sweet, mainstream media. You played the willing dilettante during the run up to the Iraq war, only to be portrayed as a collection of gossip-mongering tabloid rags as repayment. How sad.

Bush, appearing with visiting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India, spoke a day after Time magazine's Matthew Cooper said that a 2003 phone call with Rove was the first he heard about the wife of Bush administration critic Joseph Wilson apparently working for the CIA.

Bush said in June 2004 that he would fire anyone in his administration shown to have leaked information that exposed the identity of Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame. On Monday, however, he added the qualifier that it would have be shown that a crime was committed.

Chances are, at the very least, Rove and/or Scooter Libby probably acted in a severely unethical way. While they may not get convicted under technical specifications of any law, it wouldn’t change the fact that they are nefarious figures involved at some level in the outing of a CIA undercover agent. I’m sure Bush is hoping his SCOTUS nominee might push this out of the limelight, but we all know better.

It takes a hurricane or a missing white woman to do that.

Columbine happened. That didn't stop the NRA from holding it's convention in Denver that year. What's the only thing that could possibly stop an NRA convention?

An assault weapons ban.

Its convention promised to bring thousands of people and millions of dollars into Columbus, but the National Rifle Association says it is pulling out and it is a decision city leaders say was a shock.

The NRA says it won't hold its convention here in two years because of the city's assault weapons ban.

The city says the NRA selected Columbus even though it knew the legislation was a possibility. Now, the city accuses the NRA of using the city for a publicity stunt.

After the NRA announced its decision Monday morning, the city fired back.

"When you pull back the veil back, you let the light shine on this, you see what the NRA's motive was on this," says Columbus City Councilmember Mike Mentel.

When asked if he thought it was a ruse, Mentel says, "absolutely."

"Mike Mentel and your city council has embarrassed the city in the eyes of the nation by declaring the citizens who reside inside the city limits of Columbus have less freedom and less rights that those who live outside the city limits," says NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre.

Give me a break. Why the hell does anyone need to own an assault weapon? For that badass ten-point buck that just won't go down? It sure as shit doesn't mean my rights are trampled if I can buy ten handguns and four shotguns, but no AK-47.

Nothing says safety from terrorists like a nice warm uzi.

UPDATE 7/19/2005: Dylan has a post up yesterday delving into the 2nd Amendment issue. His bottom line?

Broad and sweeping reform is sorely needed.

You can say that again.