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Saturday, March 06, 2004
Lost Luggage
Singer David Crosby was arrested for having a small amount of marijuana and a loaded .45 handgun in one of his suitcases.
Police said Crosby left behind a piece of luggage, which was found by a hotel employee. The employee went through the luggage, looking for identification, finding instead the handgun and marijuana.
The employee called authorities, and Crosby, discovering the missing luggage himself, telephoned to say he would return for it, police said. He was met by New York police, who arrested him.
I know I was shocked that Crosby was in possession of marijuana. I'd have bet on cocaine.
I guess the handgun was in case anyone tried to take his stash.
Friday, March 05, 2004
So That's What It Was
When I was watching the Daily Show with Jon Stewart recap of Super Tuesday I saw these anti-CNN signs. I couldn't understand why anyone in the Kerry camp was pissed off at CNN. Now I know it wasn't the Kerry supporters -- directly.
It was a message from broadcast engineers and technicians who accuse the network of union-busting.
"We were very happy," Jeff Miller, spokesman for the Communications Workers of America, told us yesterday. The CWA-allied National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians says the network sacked 100 veteran workers in Washington and New York last year when it stopped subcontracting their services, and another 100 were rehired without union protection. CNN declined to comment on the protest.
Clearly the techs knew how to position themselves to get into camera range. Said Miller: "The money shot was the one where we got the sign right in front of John Kerry when he was standing there with his wife, with his arms upraised."
I have to believe the Kerry camp is quietly seething over those signs distracting the wide shot of Kerry's cheering masses. But since they count on union support, they can't do anything publicly. They will have to rely on the union leaders to lean on the people who did it. If not, that could get out of hand real fast. Every union would try to pull off a protest sign at any Kerry event. Talk about distracting from the message.
Money and Racism
I'm not sure, but I think the Cleveland Plain Dealer Editorial Board hit a new low. With a conclusory, slimy and poorly thought out editorial that sounds like it belongs as a topic thrown out on talk radio then a crafted, debated unsigned editorial. It concerns the primaries for the 13th and 14th US Congressional Seats. Here's the map of Ohio's Congressional districts. The primaries they talk of are to go up against incumbents in "safe seats" according to Congressional Quarterly. Even the PDEB knows this.
In two of Tuesday's congressional primary races, the voters spoke - and loudly. But, with all respect to the time-honored sanctity of the process, we have to question if they really knew what they were shouting. Were they making statements about the quality of the candidates they chose, or were the results more the result of money spent - or even the ethnicity of those running?
Translation: Are you people sheep and/or racists? We know you are idiots, but we're not sure what kind.
The money race inundated Democrats in Northeast Ohio's 14th District. The winner, Capri Cafaro, is short on anything approaching political experience, but extremely long on dollars. The 26-year-old public relations specialist from Trumbull County, daughter of a wealthy Youngstown family of developers, spent more than $400,000 of her own funds in the four-way contest, filling the airwaves and Internet news sites with well-crafted ads.
The Cafaro family is more Warren than Youngstown. The DeBartolos are the Youngstown based family of developers. These were the two competing families that built the first malls in the US. As for the spending of her money, that was what she said she was willing to spend. It appears that the number is actually around $169,000. Not a small sum, but not quite so absurd sounding. In any case, the spending of the money is bad because -- it was hers to spend? Was she misleading? Did she lie? The district she is running in, is not where her family and presumably name is well known. There is only a portion of Trumbull county in the 14th, and that portion is quite rural.
If nothing else, Cafaro proved she has learned her PR lessons well, blowing away the other three candidates in the field (including one of Ohio's best Democratic legislators, Rep. Ed Jerse) with 54 percent of the vote. Money spoke loudly here, but when Cafaro meets Republican Rep. Steve LaTourette this fall, the lush carpet of green will be more evenly divided.
Even worse. Cafaro spent her own money and won in what was a crowded primary field. Ah, here's the problem. She beat Jerse. Can't imagine how hard it was to beat one of the more liberal members of the Ohio House of Representatives, who was the sponsor of anti-gun legislation that would have included pneumatic force or compressed air (BB guns) within the definition of firearms. I mean, it's not like the seat is geographically located in a mostly rural area with lots of farming and hunting. Oh, wait. Yes it was (with the exception of a part of Lake County).
Here's where the PDEB glosses an important point. She has to defeat the incumbent Steve LaTourette, who has been in office since 1995. This is what you might consider a "safe" seat in the House of Representatives. The only way to get LaTourette out of office would be a scandal ( You mean like leaving your wife of 21 years for a lobbyist? With a nasty divorce, to boot? No. The bar's been raised.) and or a very well financed/independently wealthy opponent. Of course, Cafaro has her own little scandal stories (immunity from prosecution and the word Traficant) -- she is from the Youngstown-Warren area. That should be a fun race.
The other - and perhaps more disturbing - question mark hovers over the choice of Republicans in the 13th Congressional District. The choice was between a moderate businessman with a realistic platform and a Hispanic surname, and a low-profile beginner whose positions consisted of such right-wing bromides as limiting immigration to English-speakers only, returning to the gold standard and pulling the United States out of the United Nations.
I don't live in the 13th District, and I've never heard of either, but since all politics is local, and the 13th district covers several counties, it might have helped to know where in the district each is from -- that tends to have an effect on how people vote. For example, say one actually lives somewhere in Cuyahoga County, maybe Strongsville, where there isn't much in the way of a Republican party. The other candidate comes from Summit County, maybe West Akron, where the Republican party is larger and stronger. You might think that would be useful. Especially when you are talking about running against incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown. He's been in office since 1993, and won his last election by better than a 3-1 margin.
So Joe Ortega lost to Robert Lucas by almost 5,000 votes. And what does that say? Either that a lot of 13th District Republicans are far to the right of their party - or that the appearance of a Hispanic name on their ballots pushed some voters, consciously or unconsciously, to the more Anglo-sounding name. And if that was the case, it fairly shouts an obscenity that should offend Republicans and Hispanics alike.
Hey, guess what? Lucas was from West Akron (Summit County) and Ortega was from Strongsville (Cuyahoga). About half the 4700 vote difference (15,900 to 11,193) came from Summit County (6198 to 3825). Again, we are talking about a sacrificial candidate in the election, so how much do you think voters knew about either candidate? Railing against the voters as uninformed is one thing. Making vague accusations of racism is quite another, and truly the offensive thing.
UPDATE: I can't believe I didn't think of the most obvious possibility for the vote count. Who was listed first on the ballot? I don't know, I don't live in the 13th, but since they were both complete unknowns, and L comes before O in the alphabet it wouldn't be a shock to find out that Lucas was listed above Ortega.
Catching Up
Not a lot of time to post this week. The mother-in-law came to stay for a couple of days. She helped out with watching Angie while I took care of a lot of other things that needed done.
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
Just a couple follow up thoughts to some earlier posts.
On Nader, Chait at The New Republic gives a disturbing portrait of Nader that puts his present actions in context.
For Nader, it was almost axiomatic that anybody who disagreed with him was a corporate lackey. "Nader sees critics as enemies," wrote Sanford, a former ally. "Those who do not serve him serve the evil elements of corporations." This Manichaean worldview came through in everything Nader did. In the 1970s, he worked to establish automatic funding for Public Interest Research Groups (pirg) on campus--proto-Naderite outfits to train the next generation of like-minded activists. Nader's preferred funding mechanism was for every student to automatically contribute $1; those who objected could go to the college administration for a refund. But the administration at Penn State University in 1975 opted instead for a positive checkoff, whereby each student would check a box if he wanted to pitch in $2 for the pirg. Nader attacked Penn State as "a citadel of fascism" and threatened one Penn State board member: "I would advise Mister Baker to study very carefully the meaning of conflict of interest if he wants to understand the kind of disclosures that will be forthcoming in the coming year."
Getting back to Bush on gay marriage. Right away it was clear that the FMA had no shot, and an informal survey of the position taken by members of the US Senate shows it won't even get through that body. Bush and his advisors had to know that this had no shot. So, beyond trying to create a wedge issue with Kerry and Dems (like the '92 attempt for a flag burning amendment), and maybe energize the Social Conservatives/Religious backers of Bush, it seems like a waste of time. Of course, maybe it wasn't. Right now, in March, a lot of centrists, swing voters, part of the grand mushy middle -- what ever you want to call it (myself included) are totally turned off to Bush. But the real election isn't until November. A lifetime these days in the political news cycle. Bush has done something to placate the social conservatives and religious, and knows Kerry and the Dems won't be attacking him on this. They can't. They don't want to push the issue. They don't want to be the gay party. He can let the issue whither and die, and in the mean time wait for the center to forget, or minimize the matter to come back. I'm just kind of spitballing. I think it seems more logical in my head than trying to get it on the blog.
Monday, March 01, 2004
Where Blogs Have Really Had an Impact
Sports. I write for one devoted solely to Pitt. BUt in baseball, it is truly impressive. Here's an article looking at baseball blogs -- mainly New York Yankees and Mets (its from a NYC metro area), via Matt Welch.
Primary Notes
I erred in my prediction of another op-ed or "editorial" for Hagan/against McCormack in the Sunday paper. There might still be a chance for tomorrow, but it looks unlikely. There was some news over the weekend regarding support for the Tims. McCormack held a press conference on Friday to show his line up of support. McCormack has the official Democratic party seal of approval, so much of his support is not surprising. Hagan in fact dismissed the press conference as meaningless.
For Hagan, former Mayor Mike White crawled out of semi-seclusion (he has been completely invisible since he left office and present Mayor Campbell's administration discovered the complete mess that the city's finanaces were) to endorse Hagan.
White said Hagan, a commissioner for 16 years before retiring in 1998, was able to bring about consensus and that "everybody benefited from it."
"He's always been able to get people to [say] yes," White added.
White and Hagan worked together in the 1990s to push through Gateway, the sports stadium complex, and other downtown Cleveland projects.
...
Besides announcing his endorsement Friday, White has taped a radio spot for Hagan that will air today, Monday and Tuesday. White also recorded a statement that will be played in telephone calls to thousands of homes in Cuyahoga County. White may also come to Cleveland on Monday to campaign with Hagan.
White no longer even resides in Cuyahoga county, and I'm not sure his support should be played up so much by the Hagan camp. White alienated and upset a lot of people by the end of his tenure. And as I said, he did his best to hide the growing financial crisis that hit the city until after he left office.
Then there is Issue 31. I haven't said anything about it, because I haven't been able to sort out how I feel about it. After spending 9 months railing against a sinkhole of a public works program that proponents pushed by putting forth old studies that claimed absurd numbers of jobs and economic benefits that were based on ridiculous assumptions. Now this public funding plan for tech development and arts funding appears to be using the same approach
What do I mean? How about a study from 1998, claiming nearly 4000 full time jobs when what the really mean is "the equivalent of", arguing that
Competing metropolitan areas have acted to provide public support - including competitors like Columbus, Pittsburgh, Dayton, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and St. Louis. Without reasonable public funding, our arts and culture organizations will suffer irreparably and we will lose one of our most significant competitive advantages as a region.
A very familiar line of argument used to support the Convention center.
Still the support may be there, leading to a strange sense among the monied art elite that they are a new political force. Something that others like the Plain Dealer Editorial Board are agreeing
However Tuesday's vote on Cuya hoga County Issue 31 turns out, this probably will be remembered as the election in which arts groups emerged as a major political force.
And Why is that?
The commissioners offered to put an arts and economic development levy on the March 2 ballot: Take it or leave it. He took it.
The timing could hardly have been worse. The holidays are a horrible time to raise money - Dimora expected Schorgl's allies to fill the Issue 31 war chest - or organize a campaign. An early poll found scant voter support. State law ruled out a tax specifically for the arts, so the commissioners had to pass a resolution designating half the levy's proceeds for that purpose, a resolution they admitted future boards could revise.
...
Arts groups first showed their political potential last spring, helping to pass an embattled health and human services levy. They are, in some ways, an ideal campaign team, experienced, as my colleague Carolyn Jack notes, in putting on a show with limited resources and on a tight schedule. Carmody put that team on a war footing.
Arts groups lent staff to the campaign. Volunteers assembled and distributed thousands of yard signs, at venues as unlikely as Severance Hall. "Curtain talks" have been given at plays, concerts and gallery openings. Nightclub events targeted young voters. Arts groups tapped their well-heeled patrons for $600,000 in barely a month - an outpouring that politicians will remember long after Tuesday.
Okay, so they raised a lot of money out of clear self interest. They only become a political force if they keep providing the money under their name in other causes. Interesting revision to the Health and human services levy. I don't recall the arts community doing much for that. Mayor Campbell pushed that puppy and forced the business community to help with the carrot of supporting the convention center. If someone has an article or story talking about the arts community's impact, let me know.
All this may still prove fruitless. New taxes are a hard sell. Some artists fear high-profile groups, not struggling innovators, will get most of the money. Schorgl worries that voters still don't understand the distribution system he has developed over long months of discussions, and that distrust of government in any form remains high.
Maybe that's because the only paper of record in Cleveland hasn't exactly helped anyone to learn about the distribution plan. I know it involves a new oversight board, and there is some accounting, but that's it. The PDEB supports the tax, because it's a tax ... that could help the county. I'm just not sold.
On the national political front, the PDEB comes out for John Kerry, sort of. I'm actually hard pressed to find a real endorsement of Kerry in the editorial, so much as saying Edwards isn't ready yet.
He speaks eloquently of those left behind even when the economy was roaring. But he strikes us as a work in progress. He calls for bold solutions, but offers few.
It is said that after 19 years in Congress, Kerry can talk circles around any issue. That's not all bad: Few matters are black and white. Without oversimplifying, this very bright man needs to sharpen his focus and his numbers - though Kerry deplores the soaring federal deficit, a story in Sunday's Washington Post suggests his spending plans would cost $165 billion more than his proposed tax hikes would capture.
But the Democrats are about to nominate their first presidential candidate since Sept. 11, 2001. More than anything else, that nominee must convince Americans that he can stand up to those who despise this nation and its values. And on this count, Kerry is easily the better choice. It's not just his heroism in Vietnam. It's his obvious understanding of the world's complexities and their effects on America.
This is a man who meets the threshold responsibility of a president in the post-9/11 world.
For Ohio Democrats Tuesday, the better choice is John Forbes Kerry.
I believe the word I'm looking for to describe this support is tepid.
I've already admitted I couldn't vote for Kerry in a general election, so I guess reading the PDEB endorsement makes me feel surer of my decision. Here's a view from Kaus on the problems with Kerry.
Now That Was a Sin Tax
In Finland, the prices of alcohol are about to plummet by 40%. All of which was from taxes placed on alcohol. Seems that with neighboring Estonia set to join the EU, they had to cut the taxes to a better level or be flooded.
In Finland, officials chose to reduce taxes now because they fear what will happen after May 1 when Estonia joins the EU and Finns are expected to swarm to their southern neighbor to buy cheap drink in bulk for personal consumption.
Under EU guidelines, people can import 300 bottles of beer and 12 bottles of hard liquor from another EU country without paying any tariffs.
Situated only 50 miles away, Estonia already is a popular tourist destination for hundreds of thousands of Finns each year, who shop there for alcohol. Current Finnish duty-free import limits are 40 bottles of beer and one bottle of hard liquor from non-EU countries.
Yet another reason for me to dislike the nanny state. Yeesh.
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