This week's Porkopolis column looks at the Internet critics questioning the military service of State Rep. Connie Pillich (D-Montgomery), a U.S. Air Force veteran.

Some conservative bloggers have wondered whether Pillich earned the ribbons and medals that she wears at some campaign appearances.

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The National Organization for Women's Cincinnati chapter is backing the local Democratic Party chairman's request for an investigation into remarks allegedly made against State Rep. Denise Driehaus (D-Price Hill) by her Republican opponent.

Hamilton County Democratic Party Chairman Tim Burke has said GOP candidate Mike Robison has campaigned on Cincinnati's West Side by stating that Driehaus asked the Board of Elections to change her name on the ballot to that of her husband's, but was denied. In reality, Driehaus -- sister of Congressman Steve Driehaus -- never made such a request. Knowingly disseminating false information against a candidate violates Ohio election laws, Burke said.

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Forget what Lou Dobbs, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and U.S. Sen. John McCain are saying about the dangers coming into this nation from Mexico. A recent study suggests it's Mexicans who should be irate about the United States.

Police reports have already shown that crime is actually down in many towns along the U.S.-Mexico border, despite the fear-mongering tactics used by politicians who want to crack down on illegal immigration. And even Brewer was forced to admit earlier this month that no decapitated bodies have been found by U.S. law enforcement personnel, as she previously claimed.

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Hamilton County Democratic Party Chairman Tim Burke is asking for a special meeting of the county's Board of Elections to investigate what he says are false claims made by Steve Chabot and Mike Robison.

Chabot and Robison allegedly have told people that State Rep. Denise Driehaus (D-31^st District) has contacted the Board of Elections about switiching her name on the fall ballot from Driehaus to her married surname. The implication is that she is trying to distance herself from her brother, Congressman Steve Driehaus (D-Price Hill), who is in a heated campaign against Chabot.

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Perhaps hoping to woo a few Tea Party voters, many households in Ohio's 1st Congressional District received a letter from U.S. Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-Price Hill) this week, providing an update on the U.S. Census.

The letter, on Driehaus' official Congressional stationery, notes that the 2010 Census effort was completed under budget and had a 72 percent national participation rate, the same as the 2000 Decennial Census.

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In the words of Public Enemy, “Don't believe the hype.”

Dan LaBotz, the socialist candidate for U.S. senator on Ohio's fall ballot, is criticizing the Obama administration's claims that the combat mission in Iraq is over.

LaBotz, who opposes both the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, says President Obama is using a shell game to funnel additional troops into Afghanistan while relying more heavily on private security forces — or “mercenaries,” as LaBotz calls them — to continue fighting in Iraq.

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Amid increasing right-wing bellowing about illegal immigrants, Ohio's top elections official is defending the practice of providing bilingual ballots.

Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has released a video, “Bilingual Ballots: A Human Perspective,” that interviews people of Puerto Rican descent in Cuyahoga County.

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If they're good enough to qualify as a minor political party in Ohio, then they're good enough to be included in the gubernatorial debate.

That's the philosophy of Ohio Green Party leaders and the decision to exclude its gubernatorial candidate, Dennis Spisak, from a debate between Democratic incumbent Ted Strickland and Republican challenger John Kasich.

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In a turnabout from a campaign pledge, Republican senatorial candidate Rand Paul is getting help raising campaign money by GOP senators who voted for the 2008 Wall Street bailout.

According to an Associated Press report, Paul is holding a fundraiser Thursday night in Washington, D.C. Although Paul earlier had said he wouldn't seek money from any politician who voted for the $700 billion bailout, nine of the 12 senators listed on the event's host committee were bailout supporters.

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As Bernadette Watson decides whether to run for Cincinnati City Council again in 2011, she's keeping busy by helping a former council member get elected to state office.

Watson has been named as campaign manager for Alicia Reece, a Democrat who is seeking to keep the Ohio House 33^rd District seat. Reece, an ex-Cincinnati vice mayor, was appointed to the seat in March to replace Tyrone Yates. Yates, who was facing term limits, was appointed to a municipal judgeship.

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