SOBer Thoughts (010308)

MAKING THE ROUNDS of what I believe is the largest single-state blog alliance in the USA:

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Matt at Weapons of Mass Discussion thinks that if George Voinovich wants to increase his visibility in the state, he needs to be visiting Ohio’s counties himself, not just sending out staff members. That should be obvious.

He also catches the Columbus Dispatch using the false premise technique to underplay the significance of tort reform.

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Maggie Thurber wonders how the Toledo Public Schools can justify spending time monitoring the diversity practices of banks they do business with. So do I.

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Ohio Conservative predicts that Ted Strickland will be Hillary Clinton’s running mate if she is the Democratic nominee. Not if Ohio’s economy doesn’t improve, and not if Ted doesn’t stop criticizing the nomination process when such criticisms are of no current value and work to hurt Mrs. Clinton.

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One Oar notes that Charlie Wilson has filed for re-election in OH-06.

You would think that Mr. “Monumental Evidence That the Surge Is Working” should be satisfied now. Has anyone asked him?

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Smoke If You Got ‘Em blogs on a story about how a French physicist who doesn’t buy into globaloney (the name around here for the “global warming/climate change” nonsense) calling Al Gore a crook — specifically, one who is “presiding over an eco-business that pumps out cash.” Bingo.

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Taxman Blog has another reason why the death penalty needs to exist.

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Nix has news on the potentially nasty implications of a move by Dennis Kucinich, and general Democratic activist dislike of her, on Hillary’s prospects in the Iowa caucuses tonight. We’ll see.

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Nasty Brutish & Short predicts this for the Democrats in OH-02: “(Steve) Black loses in the primary. And (Vic) Wulsin, without a disaster in Iraq to campaign against, loses in the general.”

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Lead Us Forward has a great US map tracking what the polls would predict for delegate counts at the GOP convention. You’re going to have to click to see who’s winning.

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Cornell McCleary says that Columbus Mayor Mike Coleman has “return(ed) to power but fall(en) from grace.”

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Interested-Participant has a list (scroll down to 01/01/08 at 4:03 p.m. if necessary) of new laws that went into effect on 01-01-08. On balance, I’d say the illegal immigrant-protecting Nanny State gained.

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Patrick Poole at Central Ohioans Against Terrorism has the strangest pair of bedfell …. Ick. Just go see. To be fair, One Oar’s Brian Duffy believes this is a deliberate attempt to discredit the presidential candidate involved, and not a legitimate or desired endorsement.

Patrick also bids a “fond” farewell to a Columbus Islamic extremist, who is leaving for the friendlier environs of Dubai. At least the guy didn’t blame his departure on “bloggers,” as someone else did (see Update 5 at link).