Grumpus

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32582789.post-38650391585653537002008-04-22T08:15:00.002-04:002008-04-22T23:08:17.694-04:002008-04-22T23:08:17.694-04:00GrumpusI'm never sure if days like today in which all of the news makes me see red or feel blue are because I'm reacting to the stories or viewing the stories from the wrong side of the bed. Y'all can form your own opinions... Joe at Columbus Homes Blog recently wrote that one of the most <a href="http://www.columbushomesblog.com/2008/04/08/bexley-home-owners-property-taxes-help-fund-highly-visible-bexley-police-force/">notable features of Bexley was the omni-presence of our police force</a>. I guess we're playing to our strengths, because we're <a href="http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=T&ct=us/0-0&fd=R&url=http://www.nbc4i.com/midwest/cmh/crime_watch.apx.-content-articles-CMH-2008-04-21-0029.html&cid=1152934096&ei=pKANSIXLE4naygT724BA&usg=AFrqEzddomBAQAeUJxqa98QNhX5bKsDRHA">adding <s style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">40</s> 15 volunteer police officers, complete with guns</a>. Don't get me wrong, nobody likes having their garage ransacked or having a car barrel down the block past the houses of a dozen pre-schoolers at one and a half times the posted speed limit, but at some point there's a transition from feeling safe to feeling creeped out, and we might be getting close. Perhaps we can be a little more transparent and just keep officers permanently stationed at Main/Parkview, Main/Gould, Livingston/Mayfield, Cassady/Delmar, etc. You know, keep a presence where it will do the most good. Of course, I should be celebrating Earth Day. I'll celebrate it by asking: Is there <a href="http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/04/21/leadturf.html?sid=101">lead in the synthetic grass</a> that Bexley's students play on? Moving down Broad Street, an important new development has occurred in the investigation of the Sexual Harrassment complaints at the A.G.'s office - <a href="http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/04/22/AG_EMAIL.ART_ART_04-22-08_B5_79A0DVA.html?sid=101">2300 emails between Marc Dann and Jessica Utovich have been released</a>. This is important because <s>Marc Dann is accused of assaulting Ms. Utovich</s>. I mean, because <s>Ms. Utovich has complained of harrassment</s>. I mean, because even though there are criminal complaints and EEOC investigations going on, all anybody really cares about is who, if anyone, Marc Dann is boinking. Finally, I would have thought that by now, everybody would have figured out that the Dem nomination system does not work like the Electoral College or the GOP nomination system. Pennsylvania works like this: <ul><li type="disc"><a href="http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/PA-D.phtml">103 district delegates are to be allocated proportionally to presidential contenders based on the primary results in each of the State's 19 congressional districts. </a><ul><li type="disc"><a href="http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/PA-D.phtml">CD 9: 3 delegates </a></li><li type="disc"><a href="http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/PA-D.phtml">CDs 5, 10, 16, 17, 19: 4 delegates each </a></li><li type="disc"><a href="http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/PA-D.phtml">CDs 3, 4, 11, 12, 15, 18: 5 delegates each </a></li><li type="disc"><a href="http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/PA-D.phtml">CDs 6: 6 delegates each </a></li><li type="disc"><a href="http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/PA-D.phtml">CDs 1, 7, 8, 13, 14: 7 delegates each </a></li><li type="disc"><a href="http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/PA-D.phtml">CD 2: 9 delegates </a></li></ul> </li><li type="disc"><a href="http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/PA-D.phtml">In addition, 55 delegates are to be allocated to presidential contenders based on the primary vote statewide. </a><ul><li type="disc"><a href="http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/PA-D.phtml">35 at-large National Convention delegates </a></li><li type="disc"><a href="http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/PA-D.phtml">20 Pledged </a><a href="http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/PA-D.phtml">PLEO</a><a href="http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P08/PA-D.phtml">s </a></li></ul></li></ul>It is possible to win the popular vote and still get fewer delegates. It does not matter who "wins PA," and it only matters a little what the spread in gross vote totals is. The media has had four months to explain this to folks, but they've insisted over and over again that explaining how delegates are selected is <a href="http://news.google.com/archivesearch?ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&tab=wn&q=delegates+complicated+confusing">"confusing" and "complicated,"</a> and have stuck with the winner/loser descriptions. I used to think that they were contemptuous of the public. Now I think that they're just lazy. Enjoy your day.bonobohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241279987882052237noreply@blogger.com4