Stick a  fork in Rick Perry. He’s done. Regardless of how he did during the debate during the broadcast, the still photos of him grabbing Ron Paul by the wrist with one hand and pointing at him with the other signal the beginning of the end for his campaign before it has even started. Given Democrat proclivity to engage in Mediscare type campaigning, Republicans of all types should avoid appearing to intimidate the elderly.  He handed them a campaign photo on a silver platter with that one gesture. If you thought Carl Rove’s anti-man crush on Perry was bad before, just wait. And regardless of the disparity in their ages, there’s  line between swaggering cowboy and bully and Rick Perry crossed it. So long Rick. We’ll pick someone who can keep his hands to himself regardless of any perceived provocation.

The Ohio Apportionment Board is having a series of dog and pony shows meetings with Ohioans across the state to (pretend to) get their imput.    ” The spokesman says the hearings and websites that let citizens to draw their own maps make this the most access the public has ever had to the apportionment process.” 

That sounds good. Except it’s clearly not true.

As I previously posted, the fix was in month’s ago regarding Rep. Marcia Fudge’s inner city district. Both  House Speaker Bill Batchelder and Cleveland NAACP President George Forbes are apparent cooperators in a plan to extend Rep. Fudge’s district through the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area to connect inner city areaas of Akron and Cleveland.

And Dennis the Menace is off in Seattle testing the waters with his natural constituency out there.  Dennis may be crazy, but he’s not stupid.  He’s not working on transplanting himself with just a possibility that his district is going to disappear.  It’s dead lock certainty that he needs to find “alternative employment” and he knows it.

And all this is happening without  a word of protest from the minority Democrats in the redistricting process.  So why the silence from them? Cat got their tongue?

Note to Apportionment Board: if both Republicans and Democrats are going to collude to protect incumbents, please don’t insult the intelligence of the voters with charades like this one.

Can we please make sure the Republican House “Leadership” understands ONE thing about the previous government shutdown? Uncle Newty and the rest of the Republicans “lost” that battle because they caved and got NOTHING from the fight. They did not lose on the public relations front and then gave in because the battle was lost. They lost the public relations battle AFTER they lost their nerve, putting the country through the drama of the shut down FOR NOTHING. History is written by the victors, and by surrendering to Clinton previously, and now Obama and Reid, they are writing another disasterous chapter for our nation’s political history. Once again, they appear intent on snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

As previously reported, Congresswoman Marcia Fudge’s new district may link inner city Cleveland with the more heavily minority sections of Akron, linked largely by the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area. This tip of the hand may give us an early look at a more general picture of redistricting in the state. I offer the following thoughts.

First, I’m starting from a few assumptions which may or may not be correct in a particular situation. I assume that incubent protection will be a, if not the, primary motivator whenever possible. Party politics will enter into the calculation only after incumbent protection is addressed as completely as possible. However, that’s not to say there won’t be ample opportunity for party politics. While the overall number of “safe” seats for Democrats may not vary much from the current level, that does not prevent the Republicans from making life as miserable as possible for Democrats by giving them a largely new constituency, even if it is still largely Democrat.

I’m addressing Northeast Ohio because that’s the area of the state in which I live and am most familiar with. I won’t pretend to be able to make even an educated guess as to what’s going to happen in Columbus or Cincinnati. I’ll leave that to others.

My starting point is the total Ohio population of about 11.5  milion divided by 16 Congressional districts, for an average Congressional district population of about 721,000.

Beginning in the far Northeast of the state, Steve LaTourette’s district won’t change much, largely because it can’t. The northern and eastern boundaries of the district are set by the State’s boundaries and Ashatabula, Lake and Geauga counties provide almost 425,000 residents. In the name of incumbent protection, LaTourette’s district may extend slightly further into Eastern Cuyhoga and Summit counties  to provide him with the more affluent (and more Republican) areas of those counties (Hunting Valley, Solon, Hudson). Northern Trumbull county may remain in this district if additional population is needed, but I think this is doubtful.

To the south of that district, Tim Ryan’s district will likely also remain largely the same but may shift south slightly. Portage and Mahoning counties  provide about 400,000 residents and the remainder are likely to be made up from most or all of Trumbull county and parts of Stark county. Ryan may lose parts of Summit county. 

Marcia Fudge’s district, the new barbell-shaped Cleveland-Akron connector, will have boundaries largely determined by efforts to maximize minority populations within the district boudaries. Southern (Green) and eastern (Tallmadge, Cuyahoga Falls) Summit county may be added to Jim Renacci’s district (16th), which would at least partially wrap around Akron. This would not necessarily help the freshamn Renacci, so care would need to be taken to maximize the Republican concentration of the new territory.

Dennis the Menace’s district (currently the 10th) could then run parallel to Maricia Fudges district, keeping Parma, and exchanging parts of Summit and Medina counties currently in Betty Sutton’s district with the far western portions of the current 10th. Sutton’s district would expand into parts of Lorain currently in Marcy Kaptur’s district. This doesn’t change the overall political make up of Kucinich’s, Sutton’s or Kaptur’s districts, but it does create a slight distraction to them of making it necessary for them to introduce themselves to their new constiuents.

Unfortunately, given the population density, I don’t see too many ways to combine Sutton’s and the Menace’s districts so as to force them into a primary against each other. While Cuyahoga county has lost population, Lorain and Median have gained population. While my outline doesn’t directly eliminate any districts, it does generally shift the boundaries of the existing districts such that districts could be eliminated elsewhere. That’s not chauvansim for northeast Ohio. That’s just how the numbers here work.

In the midst of the controversy over SB 5 in the Statehouse, a trial balloon was quietly floated regarding redistricting in Ohio. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer (http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2011/03/going_far_afield_to_make_a_min.html), a plan is being considered that would link “most of Cleveland” with “Akron’s predominantly black neighborhoods” to create a majority minority district for current Cleveland representative Marcia Fudge. On a certain level, it makes sense. But the story glosses over how such a district would be created – namely, by making the shaft of the barbell run through the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area. Leaving aside the absurdity of a district “unlike anything ever drawn in Ohio,” the inclusion of a large part of Akron in “Marcia Fudge’s district” should come as no surprise. Akron has been largely written off by the Republican Party. Even the Summit County Republican party, and its kingmaker chairman Alex Arshikoff, ignore Akron, instead focusing virtually exclusively on Akron’s suburbs. If accurate, this plan would appear to begin putting the pieces in place for what Ohio’s Congressional districts will look like after re-districting.

The members of Congress from Ohio have decided to sit together as one delegation for the SOTU address. Whoopee. In one of the exceptions that proves my rule of not agreeing with the Cleveland Plain Dealer, they refer to it as ”a Kumbaya moment.” That’s one way to put it. New senator Rob Portman put this entry on his Facebook page: “Proud to work with Congressman Steve LaTourette to bring the OH delegation together for the State of the Union. Important that we remember we’re all working for Ohio.” Even if this action is naive (at best), at least some of the comments to this posting by our junior senator are encouraging.

While many commenters laud the senator for being “above the fray” and working for all Ohioans, others see this as acceptance of the Democrat talking points regarding “civility,” which the democrats have no intention of following once it matters. But as one commenter noted, terms like “working together” are variants of “bipartisanship” and they only signal that the Republicans are ready to capitulate on some liberal/statist demand.  This can’t end well for the Republicans. Either they will follow true to form and capitulate on some point, such as failing to tame the beast of spending in some regard, or they have just set themselves up to me roundly criticized in the press for failing to somehow “follow through” on the supposed “promise” of “bipartisanship” (by agreeing with the Democrats) if they happen to actually do what they were sent to Washington to do. I’d call that a rookie mistake, but none of them are real rookies.

The repeal of DADT is now a done deal. So now what?

Harassment complaints.

Of course there will be harrassment complaints by and against homosexual service members. That much is a certainty. But beyond individual accusations, the homosexual lobby will engage in other organized efforts to further their agenda. They will not be satisfied with official acceptance. Inherent in the homosexual lobby is a demand not just for tolerance, but approval. Any voices to the contrary must be silenced. And the most likely source of non-approval post-DADT will the chaplain corps.

If I were a betting man, I would be willing to bet dollars against dimes that within 6 months of this policy being implemented, military chaplains will be ordered not to read certain passages from the Bible during worship services. Some will resign. Others will choose to follow man’s laws instead of God’s. But chaplains will be put in the position of disobeying either God or their superior officers. And the end result will be that those who don’t view homosexual acts as the equal of heterosexual acts will be silenced or hounded out of the service. That will ultimately mean anyone who holds a traditional Christian belief on homosexuality. Eventually recruiting offices might as well post signs saying “Christians need not apply.” But the first casualities will be the chaplains.

Eric Cantor put on a demonstration on Fox News Sunday of what a “prevent defense” looks like in politics, in part by throwing Republican Congressional candidate Rich Iott under the bus. Iott’s crime, of course, is “being photographed in a Nazi uniform.” He hasn’t been accused of being a Nazi orof harboring Nazi sympathies (at least not directly). Iott is actually part of a historical reenactment group and has also “been photographed” in a Civil War Union Army uniform and a World War I doughboy uniform.  Of course to have historical reenactments, you’re going to people on both sides of a conflict and that includes Nazis.  As one commenter noted, what are the people playing the Nazis supposed to wear, leather pants and feather boas?

When this story first broke, right thinking individuals pointed out actors play Nazis in movies without it being held against them. To this end, one commenter on Hannity’s website asked if anyone knew of a list of actors who played Nazis in movies. And just such a list was started on Wikipedia. Only now its been deleted.  But it was also copied to ebay before it was deleted. It is reproduced here (in case that posting gets deleted too):

“This is a partial list of actors or celebrities who have played Nazis, fictional or non-fictional, in films.

A

• Karl-Otto Alberty (“The Great Escape”)

B

• Hubertus Bengsch (“Das Boot”)
• Marlon Brando (“The Young Lions”)
• Kenneth Branagh (“Conspiracy”)
• Yul Brynner
  (“Triple Cross”)
• Jim Burke (“In Enemy Hands”)

C

• Michael Caine
  (“The Eagle Has Landed”)

D

• Connor Donne (“In Enemy Hands”)
• Charles Durning (“To Be or Not to Be”)
• Robert Duvall
  (“The Eagle Has Landed”)

E

F

• Heino Ferch (“Der Untergang”)
• Will Ferrell (“The Producers”)
• Ralph Fiennes (“Schindler’s List”)

G

• Bruno Ganz (“Der Untergang”)
• Andy Gatjen (“In Enemy Hands”)
• Herbert Grönemeyer (“Das Boot”)

H

• Rutger Hauer (“Inside the Third Reich”, “Fatherland”)
• Ed Harris (“Enemy at the Gates”)
• André Hennicke (“Der Untergang”)
• Dominique Horwitz (“Stalingrad”)

I

J

• Curd Jürgens (“The Enemy Below”)

K

• Arnd Klawitter (“U-571″)
• Frank-Michael Köbe (“The Pianist”)
• Thomas Kretschmann (“U-571″, “The Pianist”, “Der Untergang”, “Stalingrad”, “In Enemy Hands”, “King Kong”)

L

• Robert Lahoda (“U-571″)
• Matt Lindquist (“In Enemy Hands”)

M

• James Mason (“The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel”, “Cross of Iron”)
• Ulrich Matthes (“Der Untergang”)
• Kai Maurer (“U-571″)
• Malcolm McDowell (“The Passage”)
• Ian McKellen (“Apt Pupil”)
• Roger Moore (“Escape to Athena”)

N

• Liam Neeson (“Schindler’s List”, “Shining Through”)
• Ulrich Noethen (“Der Untergang”)

O

• Peter O’Toole (“The Night of the Generals”)
• Daniel Olbrychski (“Les uns et les autres”)
• Lawrence Olivier (“Marathon Man”)

P

• Gregory Peck (“The Boys from Brazil”)
• Donald Pleasence (“The Eagle Has Landed”, “The Night of the Generals”)
• Jürgen Prochnow (“Das Boot”, “The Keep”, “The English Patient”)
• Alex Prusmack (“In Enemy Hands”)

Q

R

• Peter Rappenglück(“The Pianist”)
• Uwe Rathsam (“The Pianist”)
• Erich Redman (“U-571″)
• Harry Riebauer (“The Great Escape”)
• Sascha Rosemann (“In Enemy Hands”)

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for List of actors who played Nazis in movies ]

…

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article List of actors who played Nazis in movies; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.”

Of course the list is missing Christopher Plummer for his portrayal of the commandant of Rome in The Scarlet and the Black (The Sound of Music notwithstanding) and I’m sure that Redstate readers can add many others. But don’t count on Wikipedia or any other non-conservative site to maintain such a  list. Please feel free to make additions in the comments.

Apparently, the NRSC, having (ineptly) attempted to sabotage Tea Party Republicans, now wants potential contributors to think that they are best buds with Tea Partiers.  Don’t believe me? Check  this out.

I’ve commented on this in response to a previous posting on Tom Ganley’s candidacy for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate from Ohio, but I think it deserves its own entry to disseminate the information as widely as possible.

Tom Ganley is campaigning as a conservative. That’s great. Except at least in one vital area, he hasn’t acted like one – private property rights.  Post-Kelo, and following the revelation that Pfizer now no longer wants Mrs. Kelo’s former property, this is no small matter.

Mr. Ganley’s foray into the use of eminent domain to advance his business efforts occurred in 2001 in Akron, Ohio.  Mr. Ganley, as president of the Ganley Auto Group, was owner of Ganley Toyota, having purchased the dealership in 1995. Business was good and Ganley Toyota wanted to expand. So far, so good.

The trouble was not all his neighbors wanted to sell their property.  One neighbor was a modest restaurant, Katmandu. It was nothing fancy, but it was the pride and joy of its owner, Robert Brescia, who had devoted years of his life to build and improve his business and the associated property. 

But more importantly in my mind, was the home of Romie and Betty Holcomb. Romie, a Korean war veteran, and his wife had called their property home for 30 years. The fact that Mr. Holcomb risked life and limb in the service of his country meant nothing. Neither was the difficulty that an elderly couple would face in relocating and taking on a brand new mortgage.

But according to news reports at the time, the Ganleys never even made an offer to purchase the properties neighboring their dealership. No offers. No negotiations. Nothing.  What the Ganley Auto Group did was put pressure on Akron City Council in the form of, “Either condemn these properties and sell them to us or we will move the dealership out of Akron.” Akron City Council agreed, the area was declared an urban renewal zone, and the properties were seized under eminent domain.

Supporters of Ganley’s candidacy have cited the losses Ganley has suffered at the hands of the auto bailout as an example of his experience as a business owner and his understanding of the dangers of unchecked government power. A phrase comes to mind, “He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword.” Or, to borrow a phrase from Michele Malkin, “boo freaking hoo.”  When his home is taken from him like the Holcomb’s was (at his bequest), then he will understand the dangers of unchecked government power.

Mr. Ganley may not have a voting record to judge his candidacy by. But he does have a public record. And on the issue of private property rights, it is not the record of a conservative.