Columbus

July 28, 2012April 18, 2020

So, Where Did All The Obama Stimulus Money Go?

Mitt Romney’s False Ad

Living in Ohio I have been exposed to an avalanche of political advertisements so far this election season. A majority of them are negative, play loose with the facts, and are from 3rd parties who hide where their money comes from. All of those elements, to me are un-American. What really pisses me off is when an ad is actually a lie. What makes me even more mad is when that false ad was put out even after the facts were known. Mitt Romney released such an ad with the tagline of “Where did all the Obama stimulus money go?” Now because my local journalists seem to refuse to fact check this false ad I’ll have to do it here.

The ad starts:

July 11, 2012April 18, 2020

Your Extended Power Outage Might Not Be Just Due To A Storm

Downed power lines Hamilton Rd Columbus Ohio June 2012

On Friday June 29th our area experienced a severe storm with 80 mph winds that knocked out power for over 600,000 American Electric Power (AEP) customers in Ohio and it took a week or more to get the power back on. AEP claimed the storm was more than their system could handle with the amount of damage not seen since the remnant of Hurricane Ike passed through in 2008. There might be another explanation as to why restoration is taking so long in recent years. Power companies seem to be more interested in profits over service and they want you to pay for their cost cutting.

The storm that blew on June 29th is called a derecho:

July 5, 2012April 18, 2020

Remembering Firework Shows of Yore

Not the Hill’s Department Store fireworks show

I was watching Columbus’ Red White and Boom from my house the other night and it got me thinking of the fireworks my family would go to when I was a kid back in Findlay. It was sponsored by the late great Hill’s Department Store. Compared to the professional show at Red White and Boom!, the firework shows of my youth were less impressive.

We would pile into the car and drive out to Hill’s on Tiffin Ave and park in the lot facing east. Where they would shoot the fireworks off is where the Kroger store is now. We had pillows, popcorn, and a cooler with pop and the wait for the show was sooooooo long in my short attention span childhood years.

June 25, 2012April 18, 2020

Columbus Needs City Charter Reform

image of a I support City Council Districts in Columbus Ohio button

The current Columbus Ohio city charter was passed by voters in 1914. It has been amended many times since then but one part that has stayed the same is the size and make up of city council. Currently the council is made up of seven members elected to at-large seats. Also since Democrats have the majority on council, appoint new members on a regular basis, and seem to have decisions made before a vote is taken, it’s time to amend the charter again and change the number and make up of city council so it can be more responsive and more accountable to the voters of Columbus.

April 26, 2012April 18, 2020

Pageant Mother Misses Irony After Child’s Photo Shows Up On Adult Website

Pagent mother upset her child exploited

On Tuesday the local news had a story about a mother who found out a photo of her young daughter, that had been posted on a reality television show website, showed up on a adult website. She called law enforcement and was told the posting and the disgusting message with it was not illegal. I probably would have more sympathy for the mother but the reality show she and her daughter was on was “Toddlers & Tiaras.” The story and the mother’s reaction is full of irony.