Plunderbund

Stick with the video. It’s about double standards and racial injustice… still alive in the South today.

From yesterday’s Cinci Enquirer blog:
Two women convicted of falsifying election petitions to meet quotas for bonuses were put on probation and ordered to do 200 hours of community service, but a judge said they were minor players in a much larger “mean-spirited campaign.”
Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Robert Ruehlman reiterated Monday what he said last […]

ESPN has a fantastic article about the history of racial injustice in the South, and how it’s influencing opinions about Michael Vick’s alleged dogfighting.
“You would think that Michael Vick is the largest criminal this country has ever encountered, by the media play,” [prominent 1960s civil rights activist Juanita Abernathy] says. “The way they have portrayed […]

On the heels of Jerid’s post about his mother getting a payday loan to buy him a gift, The Chief Source (along with The Keeler Report) did a little original work looking at payday loan outfits. The video is good.
And check out the loan rate table (posted on the wall, unavailable to take home […]

When I finally got close to the front of the line at my polling place in 2004, a pollworker told me to cover my T-shirt. It had the words “Vote Explosion” on it.

Seeing as I had nothing to cover it with and had just spent 3 hours in line, I politely pointed out that there was no partisanship expressed by the shirt. Vote Explosion was just a loose group of friends registering folks to vote at rock shows. She replied that they were trying to avoid even the slightest possible implication of impropriety.

OK, fair enough. Polling places are supposed to be inner sanctums of nonpartisanhip. Neither voters nor pollworkers may wear political shirts, stickers, or buttons within a 100 foot radius. Although the words “Vote Explosion” aren’t explicitly partisan, neither are the words “Eagle Forum” or “MoveOn.” I think it was a wise move to err on the side of overzealousness, and simply prohibit T-shirts bearing all of the above.

The guy behind me in line loaned me his sweatshirt, and I was able to step forth to express my partisanship in the privacy of the voting booth. As an ongoing tribute of thanks to sweatshirt guy, ever since that day I’ve stowed an extra large, plain T-shirt in my purse whenever I go to vote - just in case a fellow voter is asked to cover up.

Until I read Monday’s Columbus Dispatch, it had never occurred to me that I might someday want to offer my spare shirt to a pollworker.

Elections have consequences. Our soldiers are bearing a heavy burden for our county’s failure to elect a responsible President in the past two Presidential elections.
(HT for the photo to AsOhioGoes.)

This is very interesting:
Outside the restroom doors… the theater was in chaos. The entire Sicko audience had somehow formed an impromptu town hall meeting in front of the ladies room. I’ve never seen anything like it. This is Texas goddammit, not France or some liberal college campus. But here these people were, complete strangers from […]

While I’ve been taking a long weekend (and taking advantage of the nice weather to get some woodworking done in the garage), Jerid has been filing a complaint with the Ohio Election Commission against the Bill Brownson for Council committee. Bill Brownson is running for Columbus City Council. See the details at BSB.
It’s […]

via email from my friends at America Votes:
We hear it from the news, elected officials and our kids – there are problems with Ohio’s schools that range from inadequate funding to classrooms being too full. Join America Votes, ProgressOhio, coalition partners and allies for a community forum on education.
We are bringing […]

I’ve struggled a long time to write a good capsule to introduce this bit, but I can’t. Joss Whedon is about a billion times the writer I am. This is a tremendous rant, and I encourage you to read it. I was unable to edit it down to something concise; unable to […]

(ht Jill at WLST)
$21 to live on for a week. Check out the blog for the items he was able to get and a copy of the receipt. The thing I think we can get out of this is to be able to mentally put ourselves in others shoes in order to […]

Silent Beats, a USC student film project:

Let’s not make an ASS out of U and ME.

Buckeye State Blog New Hampshire Project Fundraiser
Tomorrow, May 10 at 5:30pm
Short North Tavern

See you there!

via PO who is hosting:
COLUMBUS – U.S. Representative Tim Ryan will meet with Central Ohio Catholic leaders Saturday at the offices of ProgressOhio.org, 265 S. 3rd Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215. He will hold a press availability at 11:30 a.m.
Rep. Ryan and other Catholic leaders at a Columbus Town Hall meeting on strategies to end the […]

Awesome. From Dave at ProgreeOhio:
Strong American Schools is a nonpartisan public awareness and action campaign offering a voice to every American who supports “ED in 08.” The goal is to ensure that the nation engages in a rigorous debate and to make education a top priority in the 2008 presidential election. They expect candidates […]