Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Last Call For The Dumbest Thing On The Ballot Today

Sorry, Katy, Texas.  You guys need a $69 million high school football stadium about as much as I need pap smears.

Voters in the Houston suburb of Katy will decide Tuesday whether to approve a bond package that includes $69.5 million for a new, 14,000-seat football stadium.

The stadium would serve Katy's powerhouse program, but district officials also say they could attract playoff games and other events. It's on the ballot one year after the Dallas suburb of Allen opened a $60 million stadium with 18,000 seats and dozens of concession stands.

The $99 million in bonds would also pay for a $25 million expansion of an agricultural sciences center and $4.5 million for a science and technology center.

Oh good.  That's nice.  Hey listen, you guys realize Texas has cut public education spending by about 25% since 2009, right?  I mean hell, why would we want to spend all $99 million on education instead of competitive concussion development?

But here's the best part:

Some local tea party members oppose the bond package, saying the district shouldn't take on more debt.

Why do tea party Republicans hate Texas high school football?

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/11/05/3732370/houston-suburb-to-vote-on-69m.html#storylink=cpy

A Game Of Word Appropriation

Rand Paul explains the difference between the Makers and the Takers.  Other people make articles, Rand Paul takes the words as his own.

Sections of an op-ed Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul wrote on mandatory minimums in The Washington Times in September appear nearly identical to an article by Dan Stewart of The Week that ran a week earlier. The discovery comes amid reports from BuzzFeed that Paul plagiarized in his book and in several speeches.

Paul also delivered testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 16, 2013, that included the copied sections.

So, does this make him a moocher or a looter?   Please Republicans, please nominate this ridiculous clown show as your 2016 pick for the White House.

PS, why didn't anyone in the Village figure out Rand Paul was lifting speeches and policy positions wholesale from other authors before, or were you too busy regaling the world with how awesome and principled the guy is?

Jackasses.

We Mayor May Not Have The Streetcar Plan In Cincy

Cincinnati's streetcar plan is the chief issue in today's mayoral election, and Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls wants to continue the project started under Mayor Mark Mallory.  CityBeat here in town backs her for the streetcar and for a number of reasons:

The streetcar project has already effectively been supported by two voter referendums, and the situation has progressed to the point that stopping the project could end up costing more than finishing it, a ridiculous proposition, not to mention the sign it would send to people currently investing in Cincinnati’s progress as a forward-thinking, economically growing city.

But CityBeat’s support for Roxanne Qualls goes further than the streetcar project or any other single issue.

During the past six years, Qualls has been part of the true revitalization of downtown and Over-the-Rhine that too many of Cranley’s supporters — and sometimes Cranley himself — publicly doubted. Anyone who’s been downtown in the past couple years has seen the result of Qualls’ work with the rest of City Council: a flourishing riverfront, an Over-the-Rhine bustling with new businesses and restaurants, and a downtown that can’t get new apartments quickly enough to meet demand.

Despite Cranley’s attempts to distance himself from some of the worst of the urban doubters, there’s a profound concern that a Cranley victory would send a message to all of the city’s detractors that voters are embracing their defeatist direction.

The Cincinnati Enquirer however backs her opponent, John Cranley.

During his nine years on council, he not only reached across party lines, he drove to fellow council members’ homes and sat in their kitchens courting their votes. The next day, on a different issue, he’d find new allies and build an entirely different coalition.

The city needs his directness. Ask Cranley what he thinks about an issue, and he’ll tell you.
Or don’t ask him, and he’ll still tell you. His frankness can be bracing, but it will also be refreshing after the excessive control Mayor Mark Mallory exerted over the council agenda, curbing public debate and, in the end, serving citizens poorly. We’re disappointed that Qualls, as vice mayor, didn’t challenge his actions more forcefully.

The city needs Cranley’s passion. A real estate attorney by profession, he is a salesman at heart. It’s second nature to him to convince people of things. In a mayor, that skill can’t be overrated. Cincinnati has long needed a leader who could articulate a bold vision for the city and then roll up his sleeves and get out and pitch it to the masses. Neither will Cranley be shy about courting new businesses, selling Cincinnati to conventioneers or national media, or building a regional coalition to lobby for expanded service at CVG, the Brent Spence Bridge replacement or the I-71/Martin Luther King interchange – an idea he championed.

Cranley often talks about emulating powerful mayors like Michael Bloomberg of New York or Andrew Young, who once led Atlanta. That’s the type of energetic, game-changing leadership Cincinnati needs right now. One of Cranley’s best traits is that he’s not one to watch and wait from the sidelines.

Needless to say, anyone the Enquirer backs (with their raging hatred of the city's first elected black mayor in Mallory) is the wrong choice for the city.   Qualls has the good to back up her claims.  Cranley doesn't.  The problem is the race is already ugly, and with a state Supreme Court decision on ballot language necessitating early and absentee voters having to vote again (and possibly being disenfranchised as a result) it's anyone's ball game.

If you're reading from Cincy, go vote.

StupidiNews, Election Day Edition!

Voters across the country go to the polls today for a number of state and local races, including governor's races in New Jersey and Virginia, and mayoral races in AtlantaBoston, Charlotte, HoustonNew York, Detroit, Minneapolis and right here in Cincinnati.  In other news...




Remember to check the local issues where you live today and get out there and vote!