PowerBlog Review: Sardonic Views

Editor's note: This is the fourteenth in our popular weekly series of PowerBlog Reviews of other weblogs...





Check out Sardonic Views for a weblog with views that are, well, sardonic.



Sardonic Views is published by Chas Rich. Like me, Chas, is a transplant to Cleveland, Ohio from Western Pennsylvania.



And, as his Ryze profile indicates, Chas's views are sometimes sarcastic and cynical, and I would throw in, wry, intellectual and well-reasoned.



Chas is an attorney -- a legal researcher and writer, to be exact. Lawyers are usually very good with words, and Chas's easy ability with writing is pretty obvious.



Whatever you might be expecting, this is not your typical law blog, or blawg. Chas covers legal topics from time to time, but Sardonic Views is much broader in scope.



As the site says, it covers: "Anything from current events, campaign finance reform, sports (especially baseball), corporate/political/legal ethics, pop culture, confessions of a recovering comic book addict, and probably some overly indulgent discourses about my baby girl."



One of the things I like best about Sardonic Views is the way it dissects motives and examines them in the light of day. Motives for what, you ask? Well, any motives.



For instance, in one recent post he exposes the motives behind tax abatements that so many cities and regions use to lure businesses:

"I always find the cost of business to be the most frustrating thing when I hear people talk about wanting businesses and getting jobs in the area. Especially when it's the politicians, because they don't like to admit or mention that the taxes (and this includes the permits, regulations and inspections) are a major disincentive for even small businesses to consider going into the downtown areas. They are so willing to offer abatements and tax incentives to large companies and any developer talking about new buildings (and can make sizeable campaign contributions); but that just puts more pressure on collecting all the other taxes they can from the businesses and smaller companies that aren't so prestigious, big, or offer the big bang press releases if they opt to operate within the city itself."

Sardonic Views has been live on the Web since April 2002.





The Power: The Power of the Sardonic Views weblog is in its incisive, well thought-out opinions on everything it covers. It's a gem of a weblog -- definitely worth checking out and coming back.