Ohio Governor's Mansion Set For $267,536 Garden Restroom: Five New Unisex Potties

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- The state Controlling Board is scheduled to approve spending for the new bathroom Monday, and has the item on its March 9 agenda. The project has been in the works since 2007 and is an addition to an existing carriage house. But the timing of the final approval process might look bad for Gov. Ted Strickland. He's been begging for billions in stimulus funds from Washington, citing the state's lousy economy. He's also had to slash state spending while pink slipping and furloughing state workers. Also, Ohio has thousands of homes in foreclosure, and countless families face homelessness as the statewide unemployment rate heads toward 10 percent. So the construction of a new five-hole restroom in the garden of the Ohio governor's mansion in Bexley carries the risk of raising a bit of a stink. It has the air of the French monarchy when Marie Antoinette said, "No bread, let them eat cake."

Here's some of what the budget request on the Controlling Board's agenda has to say:

"Administrative Services requests Controlling Board approval to release $267,535.70 for the Governor's Residence Heritage Garden Education Center project, Bexley, Franklin County. (SAO Project NumberDAS-070013).

"The Governor's Residence was designed in 1923 by Columbus architect Robert Gilmore Hanford. Construction was completed in 1925 on three acres in the City of Bexley. The Residence is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"This project is an addition to the existing carriage house that will replace the current garden groundskeeper building. The new structure will include ADA-compliant restroom facilities for over 10,000 visitors annually and a gift shop where Ohio arts and crafts could be promoted and generate funds in support of the Residence and Heritage Garden. The goal of the project is to create a certified "green" building that will properly store flammables, support horticultural projects and the Heritage Garden, and utilize alternative energy sources, including solar panels and geothermal piping.

"On October 3, 2007, DAS received OBM Director approval to release funds to the State Architect's Office to hire an Associate Architect for the design of the education center.

"This request is for the construction of Phase One which entails modifications to the carriage house to add five new unisex ADA restrooms, a new geothermal heating system, new water and sanitary services, and new entrance doors. "

"ADA capital funds will be used for the cost of the General and Plumbing contractors because the construction of the restrooms and entrance doors will be ADA accessible and eligible for the use of these funds."

Putting Money Where Their Mouth Isn't: Rush Limbaugh's Bosses Now Tilt Toward Dems

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Even liberal Sherrod Brown received a donation from the Texas company that writes the rightwing talker's paychecks. Campaign finance data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics reveals the corporate PAC controlled by Rush Limbaugh's employer no longer seems to be on the same page as its hired mouth. In fact, it has turned a page. Clear Channel Communications gave 56 percent of its political contributions to Democrats last year, including $10,000 to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Limbaugh has used Pelosi as a target on his conservative talk show, and once remarked that her skills as House leader included an ability to "breastfeed" and not much else. But the money trail indicates Clear Channel doesn't put much stock in Limbaugh's analysis.

Up through the 2008 election cycle, radio giant Clear Channel -- whose stable of conservative talkers includes Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck --steered most of its PAC money -- and PAC money is the mother's milk of politics -- to Republicans. House Dems got $144,500 last year, more than twice the total given to House Republicans. Other Limbaugh targets who benefited from Clear Channel's PAC were Rahm Emanuel, who got $4,000, and Sen. Harry Reid, $6,500.

In Ohio, these were the beneficiaries of Clear Channel's largess:
Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, $2,500; Joe Cimperman, $3,000 (he lost in a primary against Kucinich); former GOP Cincinnati U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot, $1,500; former Springfield U.S. Rep. Dave Hobson, $1,000; Jim Jordan $1,000; Democratic U.S. Rep. Zach Space, $2,500; Cleveland area Republican U.S. Rep. Steve LaTourette, $1,000.

Happiness Is A Warm ??? This Ad Appears On NewsBusters, Which Exists To Criticize Media Excess

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- When I checked out a recent piece by Bizzyblog's Tom Blumer, the above advertisement popped up on NewsBusters, an Internet site where Blumer is a frequent contributor. The site and its writers are known for blasting away at the mainstream media for perceived excesses. But what does one say about an ad designed to play off libido? Guns are busting out all over? Rat-a-tit-tit? Hit me with your best shot, fire away? And this is a "conservative" t-shirt, though maybe not tailored for the family values wing. The text from the ad follows:

"THE ORIGINAL Professionally designed and screen printed for superior quality.At non-ridiculous prices:$12.95 - $19.95THOSESHIRTS.COMRight Shirts Done Right"

OH-02 Jean Schmidt: In 2006, Jerome Corsi Drilled The GOP Congress For Refusing To Drill

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Republican U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, OH-02, says abundant oil supplies for American needs are locked up offshore and in Alaska, and Democrats who now run the House should get the blame. But Jerome Corsi, author of the best-selling The Obama Nation, probably could write a book arguing that Schmidt is full of it. The opening chapter might be: Asleep at the wheel two years ago. Back in May 2006, Corsi -- conservative icon of the moment -- wrote a column for Human Events called "If Cuba Can Drill for Oil, Why Can't We?" At the time, gas was $3 a gallon and Corsi contended President Bush and the GOP-controlled Congress weren't doing enough to open offshore and Alaskan oilfields. Corsi was tough on the Dems, but said it was the duty of Republicans like Schmidt to take action:

"Conservative Republicans have never had a more historic opportunity to push for oil exploration offshore and in Alaska. Gas prices have topped $3 a gallon. We have Republican majorities in both the House and the Senate. A conservative Republican president should be expected to press for more drilling, to increase the supply of oil to lower prices, not to pass new pass new windfall profit taxes . . .

"Pushing to drill for oil would increase the Bush administration's dwindling support among conservatives. Maybe if our Republican Congress will not push to increase supplies, the Republican administration can outsource the job to the Chinese, just as the Cubans are doing . . . If the administration has an urge to dig a hole for itself, maybe somebody could channel that urge into a determination to dig for oil."

Schmidt blames the Democrats entirely: "Despite the fact that technology exists to allow extraction of oil in an environmentally responsible way, the current leadership in Congress refuses to allow us to do what every other developed nation in the world does -- drill and explore on its own outer continental shelf."

But what was she saying in 2006 when Republicans were in the driver's seat? A link available here leads to an Aug. 9, 2006 Schmidt press release about the need for energy independence. There's not a word about drilling. A pertinent excerpt is reprinted below:

"There is another way to impact terrorism funding. We simply must reduce the amount of oil we purchase from the Persian Gulf. Our nation must become energy independent as soon as feasible.

"For decades we have heard the virtues of mass transit and alternative sources of energy. Those virtues now include our national security. We have come a long way with hybrid technology already. Ethanol will be available at the pump this month in Cincinnati. Hydrogen fuel cells are working on test cars. However, we need to continue to invest in technologies and research. We also need to increase the minimum mileage requirements on our cars and trucks.

"I recently purchased a new ethanol powered vehicle as my daily driver. I will be one of the first in line to buy ethanol this month. Not because ethanol is less costly or even because it is much better for the environment; I will be filling up with Ethanol because I no longer want to send my money to the Persian Gulf. I’ll send my money to our farmers instead. Corn growers, as it turns out, are not so prone to extremism.

"We have had decades of talk. It is now time to act in the best interests of our country."

Ohio Conservative Blog Thespis Journal Defends Corsi, Rips Obama: Corsi Is White And Earned Harvard Ph.D

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Arguments about Jerome Corsi's abilities as a writer have veered into race. Thespis Journal seems to be suggesting that Corsi -- author of a controversial best seller that paints Barack Obama as a dangerous leftist -- is intellectually sturdier than the Democratic presidential candidate because Corsi is a white man. The subject came up this morning in a post that defends Corsi:

"Folks, it doesn't get any better than this. Unlike Barack Obama -- who was admitted to Harvard Law because of affirmative action and a 'legacy' admission due to his father having gone to the University -- it is clear that Jerome Corsi earned his way into the prestigious Boston college."

Should the debate over Corsi's book, The Obama Nation, really have anything to do with skin color?

Jerome Corsi Is A Twisted Kook: Once Called For Nuking Temple In Jerusalem

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Jerome Corsi, the literary quack, is known for making statements that are bigoted against Catholics -- he described Pope John Paul II as senile and opined his successor (Pope Benedict) would probably be the last pope ever. And he often compares Muslims to Nazis. Until today, I never knew Corsi suggested using a nuclear weapon to destroy a religious shrine in the Holy Land. Corsi is the author of a new book, The Obama Nation, that portrays Sen. Barack Obama as a dangerous leftist. But it is Corsi himself who is probably 'round the bend.

On Nov. 17, 2002, he wrote about his support for using nuclear weapons in the Middle East:

"Forget it -- the only thing these Islamofascists understand is force -- time to nuke the Temple of the Dome and send this 'religion' back to hell, the place it came from."

Corsi didn't seem to realize that the Temple of the Dome is in Jerusalem. A simple Google search for Temple of the Dome finds numerous references. It is formally known as the Dome of the Rock, a mosque where Islamic tradition says the Prophet Muhammad ascended to view paradise in 691 A.D. The great dome in Jerusalem is covered with 24-karat gold.

Corsi also didn't seem to realize that the rock housed in the mosque is revered by Jews and significant to Christians, and is central to the Jewish faith. According to Jewish tradition, Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on the stone. The account appears in the Bible in Genesis 22. King Solomon built a temple at the site of the rock.

Aside from advocating the use of a nuclear weapon on civilians, an act of mass murder, Corsi would also desecrate and vaporize a spot that is important to three great faiths. Is that not the intolerance of the Taliban? And Corsi says Obama is unfit? Corsi is reckless, idiotic, unhinged. He thinks flesh and blood are cheap.

Ohio's Black Student ACT Scores Drop Since '04: Where's Boost From Charter Schools?

COLUMBUS (TDB) -- The college board scores on the ACT test are up this year in Ohio, an achievement the state education department and outgoing State Supt. Susan Tave Zelman are high-fivin' in a press release. But the data is not so positive for African-American students, whose 2008 results are actually lower than they were in 2004. In fact, the gap between whites and blacks has been growing, not shrinking. The scores demonstrate that black children are still being left behind in this era of No Child Left Behind and charter schools. They were supposed to erase the achievement gap, not make it worse.

This year, the ACT composite score was 21.7 for all 88,103 Ohio students who took the college entrance exam, which measures academic results in reading, science, math and English. For whites the score was 22.2; for blacks 17.1. Five years ago, the ACT score was 21.4 for all students, 21.8 for whites and 17.2 for blacks.

Over the past five school years, charter schools have proliferated, and last year there were 252 in the state's nine largest, most urban counties. They were created and funded as alternatives to the public schools, meant to give parents a choice if they felt the public schools weren't up to snuff. The plan was that charter schools would offer poor and urban families a superior education for their children. While the ACT scores don't prove the charter movement is going to wind up a complete failure in the long run, the test results do show that momentum toward success is lacking. The scores for African American haven't improved at all since the charter schools have proliferated:

2004 -- 17.2
2005 -- 17.1
2006 --17.2
2007 -- 17.0
2008 -- 17.1.

Meanwhile, State School Supt. Zelman is crowing about the overall results, and notes there is a relationship between a rigorous curriculum and the ACT: "Data clearly shows a relationship between coursework and college readiness. There more students are exposed to rich and challenging coursework, the better the opportunity for success in the future."

She doesn't say anything about the impact of Ohio's charter schools on the national entrance and placement exam.