Philip, What's the Frequency?

Say what you like about 'The Dean' - the guy is a tenacious example of, uh ... opinionated citizen activist journalism, let's call it. There's no better illustration than this clip.

If you're like me you don't really understand half of the questions that are lobbed by 'The Dean' at his arch-nemesis, Hamilton County Commissioner Phil Heimlich (R), who can be seen hurrying towards his car, away from the camera. Nevertheless there's a rich satisfaction that comes from watching a public official be taken to task with full-blown, Geraldo-like intensity.

Politicians of any stripe tend to be loathsome creatures - vain, opportunistic schlubs who deserve less respect than the good upstanding public employees who drive trash trucks. They should always be reminded that they work for us, and not themselves, or the interests of their cronies - and they should be made to worry about the possibility that a fellow with a fictitious name and a video camera might occasionally pop up in the parking lot to ask questions.

Consider Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R), who not only accepted bribes to the tune of $2.4 million dollars, but also, according to a recent inquiry, took full advantage of congress' ability to pass secret budget items by stuffing in line-item pork for his district. And you have to figure that for every one of these frauds that gets sent to prison there are several more who remain at large despite criminal activity.

I'll leave it for others to critique or defend Phil Heimlich, but I'm glad he knows he's being watched. Let transparency fall on the just and the unjust alike. And incidentally, don't miss the Beacon coverage (with video) of the Arab-Palestinian-Lebanese-Nazi conflagration on Blue Ash last Sunday.