diaspora

^^^I think that in order to determine who voted for the levies vs who voted against SB5 you'd have to get much deeper into the vote totals. I think you'd find the areas where the levies failed had a much closer margin on Issue 2 than areas where the levies passed.

If absentee ballots didn't require a SSN or a DL# i'd be okay with some sort of limit to early voting. As it is, i think that all ballots should be mailed out to everyone. Let's go to an Oregon style election. It is never a bad thing to increase the number of people that vote.

I think winburn and smitherman will be pretty marginalized but they clearly have strong constituencies. The only real annoyance for me last night was Ghiz saying that she's putting her house up for sale and had just been waiting for the election to do so. She clearly hasn't been focusing on what's best for the city if she's had one foot out the door. As far as the new council...I'm happy it's progressive but they'd better do some good.

They don't need 6, they only need 5...which they had until Berding abandoned the party.

Of course a rural district will be larger, at the same time, it's strictly based on how to maximize the voters that will reelect the party in charge, or minimize the impact of voters that will vote for the minority party. I guess i don't follow, but there aren't any black congresspeople from southern Ohio. In fact, there's only one from Ohio, and she's up in Cleveland.

Like Straphanger said, Wyoming has a disproportionate say based on population. Their electoral vote/population ratio is much lower than a state like California. I mention this only to say that rural areas have always had a disproportionate voice in our governments, it's not directly relevant to the redistricting, but i thought it might help explain what i think is an intentional emphasis on rural areas.

Of course it's intentional. One party disproportionately benefits from rural voters and the other from urban voters. If you look at the electoral college, our country always favors the interests of the small over the interests of the large. It's why places like Wyoming and the Dakotas have 3 votes. that's not anywhere near proportional to the actual number of voters when compared to a place like California. I love the new plan, even less reason for Congresswoman Schmidt to ever visit her urban constituents. But, i don't worry, i'm sure that what's best for Portsmouth is best for us in Cincinnati.

Why would they leave? this is the greatest city that has ever graced God's green Earth! (and by green, i mean mostly blue...what with the oceans and everything. A pale blue dot, to quote the title of Carl Sagan's book)

yeah, i knew that...thanks for the correction, though guys. I think it was the whole "giving blood" thing. But, i only do that so i feel superior to others. To whomever said "is he from NYC?" yes, funny, but that's where this guy grew up. But, he's lived in Ohio for the past 40 years. Long enough to know that Ohio isn't on the ocean.

I told him he was crazy. He told me that cartographers knew more about this than i did. I pointed out that as part of the Louisiana Purchase Ohio was in the Midwest...after a few minutes it became clear that this was the closest to an internet fight as i was going to experience in real life, so i just let it go.

My coworker just told me that Ohio wasn't a Midwestern state. He claims that it is, in fact, mid-Atlantic. What say you?

Parents dropping their kids off at a school near my house. There's no parking to speak of so they pull up, throw on their flashers and sit while their 6 year old clambers out of their SUV. Then they wait for the kid to get into the building. This morning a lady did this (day care I guess) and then needed to turn left from the right lane onto the adjacent street.

Yeah. I enjoy it for what it is but look forward to what it will develop into as they go through the beta.

I feel better already, my Sister-in-Law gave birth to a healthy baby girl this morning (8am PDT).

I'd hope i'd be earning much more in 10 years than i am now anyway. I'm relatively risk averse and seek out stability where i can find it. If someone could promise me that by taking a cut now i'd be better off 10 years from now than i would have been otherwise, i'd have to give it serious consideration.

To the discussion about businesses that will gain from the streetcar and where is their vocal (and monetary) support, I can't imagine Towne Properties is saying peep about this. They'd gain a lot by having the project come to fruition, but with Bortz on council they're not going to say a word, and they're certainly not going to support his political rivals.

Yeah, i know. I could do a lot with that cash (video games, dvds, the two most recent Song of Ice and Fire books)...but, i'll survive without it. It's more that i'm just frustrated with myself for making that mistake. I thought about asking the teller for an envelope to put the cash in, but i'd not been to that branch and i didn't want to bother her since it was only a block. I put the cash in my front pocket and not in my wallet. i started to take stuff out before i got to the head of the line to speed things up. Just so many opportunities to not lose that $100.

Ugh...lost $100 today doing a favor for a friend. Background: my friend moved to Philly for work. She would sell her condo but she's been in a fight with them because they won't fix the roof and she has water damage all through the exterior walls. They claim other members of the HOA aren't paying their fees so they can't get the work done. She doesn't care because she's current on her fees. So, she's suing...and paying her HOA fees to the court. Unfortunately, that has to be paid in cash on the first of the month and she lives in Philly. I'm doing it and she's paying me back. Today, i go to the bank that's a block from the courthouse. I take out the $308 i need to pay (in large bills because it's easier and less obvious than carrying a wad of smaller denominations) and then walk the block over. While in line i start to take the stuff out of my pockets to make it easier to get through the metal detector. I get to the clerk of courts and i only have $208. The guard at the metal detector hasn't seen it, and no one in line handed me $100 and told me i dropped it (shocking, i know!). So, i had to go get another $100 out to cover the fees. It's not my friend's fault that i lost the $100, but man does that suck.

As long as that is coupled with some other ways if evaluating. In your scenario that older teacher may be given the more difficult students that she has the experience to deal with. One thing that is forgotten about tenure is that it protects older (more expensive) employees from being laid off merely because of budget trouble. Those employees then have a much harder time finding work elsewhere.

When I think of Mackinac I think Hilton and a great pool and a huge breakfast buffet. I mean, what do these people want, to preserve the history and culture of a truly unique place? How quaint.

I finally reloaded it on my phone. I wasn't pleased with the normal format of the board on here. Is there a mobile version of the site? I've never looked and it usually just loads automatically if it exists.

Oh, okay. You are talking in general terms not necessarily individuals. Back on topic...sorry for the detour.

I think i know what you intend with your comments, but it's incredibly patronizing to suggest that you know better than an entire nation of people with a different culture.

Comedy: Nerdist, SModcast, Ken P. D. Snydecast, Dave Gorman, Science: Big Picture Science (at least i think that's what it's called, it used to be "Are We Alone" by SETI), Skeptics Guide to the Universe, Just random weirdness: The Best Show on WFMU puts out a podcast of their 3 hour show (but without the music).

I'd rather spend money there than Newport.