When a Jan. 25 e-mail exchange between Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune and Hamilton County Democratic Party Chairman Tim Burke became public through a leak, it lifted the veil on the thinking of some political bigwigs. The pair began the exchange to discuss who should be appointed to fill a vacancy on the Board of Elections and ended up opening an ugly window into inter-party dealings and behind-the-scenes jockeying.
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It's difficult to resist the urge to tell Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune, "I told ya so." Portune made a big deal a few weeks ago of his teaming up with his colleague, County Commissioner Greg Hartmann, to devise a solution for the looming deficits in the county's stadium account. Much like President Obama at the national level, Portune was enamored of his bipartisan approach to the problem.
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Here's another example of why many people are leery of Christians and their bellyaching about their faith being abused. Even though U.S. military rules prohibit the proselytizing of any religion in Afghanistan or Iraq, it was revealed this week that a military contractor has been printing references to Bible verses on rifle scopes used by soldiers in those wars.
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Some local Democrats are upset with Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher over his demands for attending an upcoming political event in Oakley and believe he's disrespected Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. They're squaring off in the May 4 Democratic primary to get the party's U.S. Senate nomination, and the Hamilton County Democratic Women's Caucus invited them to participate in a debate here Jan. 20. Brunner accepted almost immediately, caucus members say, but their experience with Fisher was far different.

It's only the first week in January, but already political campaigns are gearing up for what likely will be the most high-profile local race this year. Cincinnati City Council colleagues Leslie Ghiz and Chris Monzel are running in the GOP primary for the Hamilton County commission, setting up a fight for the local Republican Party's soul between moderates and hardcore conservatives.
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Some people think The Banks, a sprawling $800 million residential and shopping district being built along the Ohio River, is Cincinnati’s best hope for increasing tourism and luring more people to live downtown; others call it a waste of money and an unnecessary gamble during tough economic times.
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President Obama and his supremely obnoxious chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, should be more honest. The $871 billion health care reform bill passed by the U.S. Senate Dec. 21 after eight long and tedious months of debate is, by all indications, almost the exact bill that both men had in mind when they began this process. It's clear that so far this isn't the president most of us signed up for.
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Once again, Hamilton County commissioners are tossing the ball down the line to avoid dealing with a serious issue. Well, at least two of the three commissioners are. After years of warnings, the county’s stadium account finally is about to run a deficit beginning next year.
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To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports about the demise of the anti-porn, anti-gay, anti-anything different Citizens for Community Values are greatly exaggerated. In fact, the antiquated group is probably affecting your life in ways you haven’t even imagined.
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Quick: Tell me why U.S. and NATO troops are in Afghanistan. If you say it's to retaliate for the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 and destroy the government that allowed the rural nation to serve as the launching pad for the bloody offensive, well, that's already been accomplished. It's disappointing, then, that President Obama has granted a request from his military commanders to commit another 30,000-35,000 troops to the Afghanistan War for an indefinite time.