Senator Approval Today I found a poll of US Senator approval ratings. Go check out what the approval ratings for your senators are.  ¶ 3:47 PM 4 comments

 
Today was the Miami County Republican Convention. 481 delegates voted on whom Miami county Republicans would endorse in statewide primaries in May. As I walked into the gymnasium there was a gauntlet of candidates and supporters showering me with campaign material. One of the first things I received was a bag that I put everything in. I called it my bag of things I'm not going to read. Mrs. DeWine even gave me a cookbook from he DeWine Campaign and I told her that I would put it in my bag of things I wasn't going to read. Before everything began people went from person to person greeting whom they know, or greeting one of the candidates or their supporters.
The actual business of the convention went slowly. The keynote speaker was new House Majority Leader John Boehner. One notable endorsement was that the convention voted to endorse Tim Grendell over Betty Montgomery, a woman who just a month ago was running for governor. Also Mike DeWine had four opponents. Two of them picked up a handful of votes but David Smith had 118 votes. The convention endorsed Tim Grendell for Attorney General, Greg Hartman for Secretary of State, Jannette Bradley for Treasurer, Mary Taylor for Auditor, John Boehner, Mike DeWine for Senator, Dianna Fessler for 79th House District, and Kenneth Blackwell for Governor.  ¶ 7:29 PM 2 comments

  Usually this blog covers politics, but today I will post about a different kind of news. If you haven't heard the incredible story of Jason McElwain, go read it. It is a great story showing the greatness of the world around us in a story not even Hollywood could make up.  ¶ 9:37 PM 1 comments

  Iraq Tensions Controlable I find the news coming out of Iraq much more promising since Wednesday. The violence from reprisals has not grown. Instead they have slowed down, showing the situation will become much less of an issue with each passing day, and the country is not headed to civil war. The Iraqi government has shown wisdom by being able to quickly and decisevely control the violence. I find it promising that if the country can get through this, they will get through everything else that is less critical.  ¶ 6:23 PM 0 comments

  Golden Mosque Bombed, Iraq Holds Its Breath Today grave news has come out of Iraq. The Shi'ite Golden Mosque was bombed. Shi'ites have blamed Sunnis for the bombing, and Shi'ite mobs have attacked Sunnis, especially their mosques and religious leaders. The military had to be tapped to stop the violence by shutting down the whole nation. This will cause great hatred between the two groups and now has Iraq close to civil war. It seems to me that these attacks could have been prevented by Shi’ite. For some time now, rogue parts of the Shi'ite controlled government have been mistreating, torturing, and abusing Sunni inmates, many of who were unjustly arrested. This deadly corruption would be the fuel to the hate that was necessary for today's attack  ¶ 7:21 PM 1 comments

  In ten months Ohio will elect for itself a new governor. I am proud to announce that I endorse Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell. He has an abundance of experience serving the public that goes beyond what is needed to be governor. He has been elected as secretary of state, mayor of Cincinnati and state treasurer, as well as serving on several federal commissions, and as an undersecretary of housing and urban development. Kenneth Blackwell is also the only candidate to support the state amendment banning gay marriage. He is also the only Republican candidate not affected by the coingate scandal. It is this blend of ideology, integrity and experience that makes Kenneth Blackwell the best man for Ohio governor.  ¶ 6:39 AM 0 comments

  McCain and Rice Not Right for GOP
In the last issue of Time Magazine I read an article about how John McCain was attracting big donors for a presidential run in 08. The other name I hear a lot of Condoleezza Rice. Neither of these people are suitable candidates for president. Both are too liberal in domestic, economic, and social issues. These candidates would lose in the primaries, and only soak up the money of donors for presidential candidates. What Republicans need is some one who is the heart of the party, a true conservative but not an extreme one either.  ¶ 1:16 PM 3 comments

  School Funding Needs to Be Changed In Ohio our school funding system is broken. Many other states use the same method. We currently have a system where each school district raises money by taxing residents based on their real estate. This system means that rich districts get more money they need and poor districts, especially those with minority populations and urban areas, give their students a second rate education. Farmers as well are over taxed, because they own large tracks of land. What needs to be don is that states with this system of school funding should switch to a system of income tax that fully funds all schools in the state.  ¶ 3:55 PM 2 comments

  Whittington Released, Now its Cartoonist Turn To Be Shot Today when I explored the blogosphere I found two wonderful things. First Harry Whittington, the man who was shot by Dick Cheney, was realeased. Now it’s the cartoonists turn to be shot, according to http://thetension.blogspot.com/. The cartoonists now have quite a price on their heads.  ¶ 12:13 PM 0 comments

  Dick Cheney is the New UFO

















After a freak shooting accident by the vice president the blogospshere is filled with conspiracy theories about the shooting. These conspiracy theories are much like ones about UFOs and aliens. Every conspiracy is a little different then the others, and each one is based on little fact or evidence. These theories should either be ignored or laughed at.  ¶ 6:30 AM 0 comments

  When we vote for president and congressmen we vote based on many criteria. Some people vote by party, ideology, issues, experience, record, or charisma. One thing that we would do well to look at more is politeness.
The partisan politics of this century have brought many benefits to being a rude to the other party. Making sweeping demagogic accusations of the other party can put you on television and make you seem like a party leader, but it makes it very hard for the two parties to work together for the good of the nation.
It is also unpatriotic to say that half of our government is corrupt, evil, or a bunch of liars. It is much easier to compromise when both parties understand that their counterparts are just trying to do what they think is best for the nation.
We have to many people that will say controversial things just for the publicity. Anne Coulter and Michael Moore are good examples, but look at our politicians. I’m going to go out an a limb and say that Tom Delay calling the Democratic Party evil in a recent speech, and Hillary Clinton saying that the Republican party runs congress like a plantation on Martin Luther King day, are not good for the political atmosphere in our country, and therefore not good for out country.
It is politeness that these politicians need. They need to voice their opinions in a sensible and constructive way. It would be beneficial to politicians to be polite and make friends across the aisle because having powerful friend mean that they themselves are more powerful. Being respected by all of congress caries over to being respected by the people politicians represent.
Members of opposing parties need to understand that both parties are largely well meaning and have integrity. We have different views, but we all want what is best for America. We want what is best for America so badly that we are willing to go to great means to get what it best. We just need to make sure that our means do not outweigh the positive end we campaign for.  ¶ 5:13 PM 0 comments

  Why We Blog
As I have researched blogging to learn how to better this blog, I have heard many different reasons why blogging is so popular. Blogging gives you a voice that can be easily heard, it gives an alternative to a centrist media, and many other observations people have made. For political bloggers like me the reason is much like our capitalist society. In capitalism everyone shares the dream of getting rich. Blogging offers a similar opportunity; there are a handful of big blogs that many people read. I and many other people aspire of reaching that level of audience. These bloggers had no idea when they started that they would become such great hits. So we see that everyone who is good enough at blogging has a chance.  ¶ 8:17 AM 0 comments

  The Republican Game Plan This November it will be a lot tougher for Republicans to gain seats in congress. There are several issues they should push to boost their cause. First the GOP should vigorously defend the issue of wire tapping as a way of defending Americans. Second the GOP should start pushing for making President Bush's tax cut permanent. Voters love to get money.  ¶ 4:40 PM 0 comments

  A Game Plan For Democrats In my last post I wrote about how the Democrats currents attack on the wire tapping was not a politically smart move. What Democrats need to do to win seats in congress this year are two things. First they need to attack Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq. This summer this is mainly what the party did, and they pushed the president's approval rating to record lows. One good way to do this is to start dialogue in congress about troop withdraws. Although, I question the ethics of such a move, troop withdraws tugs at voter's heart strings and puts the President in a situation where he can make little political gain. The other thing Democrats should do is to go on the offensive about Jack Abramoff and challenge the integrity of Republican lawmakers.  ¶ 6:54 PM 1 comments

  Wire Tappings Could be Critical Political Issue
One of the latest Political issues has been the wire tapping of suspected Al-Qaeda members in the US. The Democrats are risking losing seats in congress over this issue. This issue can easily be counter attacked by painting the Democratic Party as being weak on defending America. Most Americans believe that the president is only wire tapping Al-Qaeda suspects. The make up of the voters and there what they think of this issue should make wire tapping critics think twice. The people who believe that the wire tappings are illegitimate are very partisan Democrats whose vote can already be counted on for November. While most moderates and independents don't believe in the least bit that the wire tapping was used on every day Americans. Democrats should have learned from the election four years ago that the best way for a presidents party to gain seats in congress in non presidential election years, is to highlight issues of foreign policy and defense.  ¶ 8:05 AM 0 comments

  Danish Muhammad Cartoons




Last September a Danish newspaper published a page of cartoons making depicting Muhammad, a sin to Muslims. Just publishing such a page that attacks a religion is condemnable, but so is the reaction. Muslims have attacked and burned many Danish and Norwegian embassies across the Middle East. By this violence the Muslims perpetuate the very stereotype that these cartoons make fun of. These protest along with the riots in France have cause myself to lose some respect for the Muslim people and their religion. You can see the cartoons at ttp://weblog.theviewfromthecore.com/2006_02/ind_005226.html  ¶ 8:14 AM 0 comments