Columbus AM Radio Facepalm: Chuck Douglas

Almost forgot about this brief gem.

Last Sunday I was floating through Columbus on my way back to Cincinnati and, being the auditory masochist, was cruising the AM dial. Granted, on a Sunday it's much more nutritional supplements, computer shows, gun shows, etc. and not so much in the way of politics. But I got lucky: I found Chuck Douglas on 610 AM.

Chuck was talking about how the GOP re-drew the congressional lines - as happens every decade - for Ohio, the Democratic Party said "Woah, that's some crazy Spirograph shit!" and is challenging it by collecting signatures to put it to a referendum on the 2012 ballot. And he was very right on one count: it happens every time that the party in power takes advantage and shoehorns their map into law. Going referendum is a little stupid in this count since people will be running for districts that might be vastly different or not even exist after the election.

Of course, he immediately took the right-wing tack by picking whatever fit anti-Democrat purposes: what good is passing legislation if you're just going to turn around and take it to the people? Hrm? I'm pretty sure I've heard a multitude of cries of "shoved down our throat" and "put it to a vote" and "take it to the people" when it came to Obamacare. Of course, this is Republican-controlled Ohio circling the toilet, so the song is whatever it needs to be.

And then something stranger happened: Chuck vilified someone he heard on TV who mispronounced this practice because that person mispronounced and called it "gerrymanding" instead of gerrymandering. Three minutes later THE topic was gerrymandering and it happens every ten years and "there's a word for it because ...it happens on a regular basis." Fifteen minutes later, Chuck had repeated the "word for it" bit of wisdom twice without offering the slightest iota of definition or historical reference. It was obvious he really had no idea.

Quick lesson, Chuck:



Gerrymandering was first used in reference to this comic in the Boston Gazette newspaper on March 26, 1812 (it was also in every kid's Jr. High civics book). The caricature was demonstrating how Massachusetts legislature was drawing a district to favor then Gov. Elbridge Gerry and minimize the impact of the Federalists. As some thought the district looked like a salamander, the combination of Gerry and salamander gave birth to the term that still vibrantly lives today.

So now we all know what gerrymandering is and why it's called that. Yay! Secondary lesson: If you're going to be yappin' yer yaw about something, take a few minutes to pick up the basics.

Conservative Take, OWS: I Know You Want to Throw Up All Over Yourself

Or drive yourself to drink to blackout.

Then why not read the post on Conservapedia about OWS?

Leftist protest Occupy Wall Street is an ongoing anti-capitalism rally, with beginnings as an astroturfing campaign funded by a George Soros group called Adbusters; invoked by Bill Ayers "Days of Rage," the first Occupy protest was staged on September 17, 2011 in New York City after months of planning by co-founder of SEIU Stephen Lerner.[1][2][3] Occupy Wall Street protesters consist of radicals, anarchists, nihilists, college students, hippies, special interest groups, labor unions and vendors. They dislike capitalism, blame greed, Wall Street and the banks for economic hardship, and have been seen spitting on U.S. Military personnel.[4] Similar 'Occupy' demonstrations have spread to a dozen cities, and has caused thousands of arrests across the United States.
The Occupy Wall Street movement was inspired by the Arab Spring protests in Cairo that were organized by the Muslim Brotherhood.[5][6] Egyptians camped out in Tahir Square until Hosni Mubarak resigned.

Oh, it gets better. But I'm just here to give you the tools, not make you poke out your eyes and drink bleach because of the message. Happy hump day!

Mitt Romney - Bad Lip Reading Joy!

You peed yourself over Rick Perry, so here's some Romney from BLR. Enjoy!

Marijuana Majority

Who thinks the legalization of marijuana is okay? Most of Americans.



Giddyup! Oh, I mean Gallup.

Maybe it's time to get government out of our lives. What was that, Republicans? You don't like marijuana or hippies and need to save about half of Americans from ...themselves? Because you know better? Maybe like a Nanny would?

Well-played, control machine. Well-played. I have some alcohol to drink now.

Ohio's Issue 3: So Hard to Say NO

Ohio's Issue 2 on November's ballot is relatively straightforward. The Kasich administration is trying to kill unions, collective bargaining and anything that has to do with the Democratic base; and as opposed to Wisconsin, this includes police and fire. They tried to do this with SB5. After gathering many times over the required signatures, it turned into a referendum, Issue 2.

There is some confusion on whether you are voting yes on repealing or voting no on the bill (that is intentional), so here's a picture to help:



Vote NO on Issue 2 if you support your public employees including teachers, fire, and police.


"But wait," you're saying. What's this about Issue 3?

I saw an absentee ballot this weekend and was terrified by what I saw on that ballot as Issue 3.

Long story short, Issue 3 is Kasich's Anti-Obamacare amendment to Ohio's constitution. It's pure politics and nothing but BS. Why was it scary? Because the language is a little confusing except for the incredibly biased header which reads: To Preserve The Freedom Of Ohioans To Choose Their Health Care And Health Care Coverage

I mean, who doesn't want to preserve freedom?

This one's moving under the radar because so much has been put into Issue 2, but it cannot be ignored. Millions of Ohio voters are going to go to the polls this November and probably have a good idea about Issue 2, but know little about issue 3. How do you think that header is going to affect them? How will that affect their on-the-spot voting on an issue?

Vote NO on Issue 3 to stop Kasich's do-nothing, stop-Obama agenda.

Here's the page for info (and ballot language) for Issues 1, 2, & 3 in Ohio.


And have a great week!