More on Boehner.....

Joe Scarborough on MSNBC, made some allegations about Republican leader John Boehner.

The following is from Raw Story:

House Minority Leader John Boehner has a reputation among Washington insiders for his hard-partying ways, but public suggestions that Boehner might have a drinking problems have been a rarity. That's what makes MSNBC host Joe Scarborough's remarks about the Ohio Republican's bar-hopping habits worthy of notice.

"I hear it on the Hill, I'm sure you hear it on the Hill all the time, it's not reported," Scarborough told a guest from Politico on Wednesday's Morning Joe. "But so many Republicans tell me that this is a guy that is not the hardest worker in the world."

"After five o'clock, six o'clock at night he's disengaged -- at best," Scarborough continued. "You can see him around town. He does not have, let's say, the work hours of Newt Gingrich. ... Every Republican I talk to says that John Boehner, by five or six at night, you can see him at bars."

There is plenty of more information on the Raw Story link. Scarborough, a staunch Republican, might have an agenda in talking about Boehner in this way.  I'm sure that others will have their takes on the story.


****John Kasich has his Lehman Brothers connection.  How did Lehman Brothers operate and what happened when they collapsed?   USA Today:

...Almost 6 million lost jobs. A 5,000-point Dow plunge. The government bailing out cash-starved banks. General Motors and Chrysler declaring Chapter 11. The unemployment rate doubling to almost 10%. Consumers getting $4,500 handouts from Uncle Sam to buy a car. Talk of a 1930s-style depression.

To modern-day Wall Street historians, these bizarre events mimic the other-worldly feel of a Ripley's Believe It or Not episode. But all those unthinkable occurrences made news in the past year. They all tie back to Sept. 15, 2008, the day Wall Street titan Lehman Bros. filed for bankruptcy. The collapse of the investment bank was so shocking it triggered a financial tsunami of such size and scope that it was compared to the Great Depression....

"Lehman's bankruptcy will forever be synonymous with the financial crisis and (resulting) wealth destruction," says Paul Hickey, founder of Bespoke Investment Group..... 

Wow.

This just in.....  According to Plunderbund, Kasich is on his way to New York again to cover for O'Reilly.

Does anyone else think that Kasich may have peaked too early in the polls? 

Boehner

Republican leader John Boehner wants so much to be Speaker of the House.  It appears that if the Republicans control the House, he'll be the Speaker and, he'll push to raise the retirement age to 70.

 USA Today:

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review today that he would support raising the Social Security retirement age to 70 to help pay for the war in Afghanistan....

...Boehner also criticized President Obama's proposal to revamp Wall Street, which is working its way through Congress. Boehner compared the measure to "killing an ant with a nuclear weapon."
Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen, who chairs the campaign arm of House Democrats, said the comments are a "wake-up call to the American people about the dangers of turning back the clock to a Republican Congress."

Once again we see Boehner working against protecting the investments of his own constituents in order to support bankers.  Shame.

Failure to Help

Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, Rob Portman, has a poor voting record regarding Veterans Issues.

Project Vote Smart:

2004   Portman supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 0 percent in 2004.

2004   Portman supported the interests of the The Retired Enlisted Association 33 percent in 2004.

2003-2004   Portman supported the interests of the Vietnam Veterans of America 38 percent in 2003-2004.


2003   Portman supported the interests of the American Veterans 50 percent in 2003.

2003   Portman supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 0 percent in 2003.

2003   Portman supported the interests of the The American Legion 40 percent in 2003.

2001   Portman supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 100 percent in 2001.

2001   Portman supported the interests of the Vietnam Veterans of America 66 percent in 2001.

1999   Portman supported the interests of the Disabled American Veterans 0 percent in 1999.

1997-1998   Portman supported the interests of the Vietnam Veterans of America 33 percent in 1997-1998.

I guess those veterans will remember Portman's lack of support.  I wonder how Portman explains his "NO!" votes on veterans' issues?




**** The story in the Dispatch explained that some charter schools in Ohio were in danger of closing. Florida is facing similar problems with charter schools, according to Tampabay.com:


Ten Ohio charter schools have filed a joint lawsuit against White Hat Management, the for-profit company that runs two Pinellas County charter schools and eight more throughout Florida.

The suit alleges that the company, which is based in Ohio, received 96 percent of the public dollars sent to the school, but failed to invest that money in the classroom or to provide required financial disclosures. It also claims that Ohio's charter school laws leave local governing boards helpless against their managers.

The Pinellas County School Board earlier this month voted not to renew its contract with Life Skills Center of St. Petersburg, a 5-year-old school dedicated to helping students obtain diplomas after falling behind in traditional schools. The board cited a poor graduation rate and other academic concerns....


White Hat Management???? David Brennan, of White Hat Management, has contributed very generously to many Republicans, especially Jon Husted (State Senator for Kettering, but lives in Arlington).

EdVotersofOhio has more info.

Republican David Yost--Overstepping Again

Mr. David Yost, Republican candidate for Ohio Auditor, had some harsh words for Gov. Ted Strickland.  Yost, who has been a controversial figure in Ohio politics, seems to enjoy sticking his nose into other people's business.


Cleveland.com:

Dave Yost, the Republican candidate for state auditor, thinks Gov. Ted Strickland should butt out of the affairs of the office he hopes to win in November.

A former Delaware County auditor and the county's current prosecutor, Yost sent a letter to the governor today accusing the Democrat of election-year grandstanding related to Auditor Mary Taylor's performance audit of the Ohio Lottery Commission....

Yost has nothing to do with state government since he is a county official.  Yost has no jurisdiction over any state agency or the Governor.  This is typical for Yost---inserting himself into something that does not pertain to him.

I remember something Republican David Yost did in 2004.  He tried to block the recount of votes for Delaware County Ohio during the 2004 election.  On December 28, 2009, the Athens County News suggested that Delaware County should be investigated:


.....In front of a Delaware County Assistant Prosecutor Chris Betts (working under Mr. Yost), ES&S Technician Sam Hogsett for hours ran the computer in the tabulator; he was allowed to load punch-card ballots and call out the precinct totals. I repeatedly asked the prosecutor to stop him. Nothing was done. Ohio law allows for one Democrat and one Republican to count the votes. It says nothing about one technician. Was it legal?

I later reviewed those ballots. They are sorted by presidential candidates. They were not sorted at the recount. Another citizen investigator I worked with has published a book discussing how both the 2004 presidential race and the Ohio Supreme Court race were allegedly rigged in Delaware County. The book is titled, "Witness to a Crime: A Citizens' Audit of an American Election" (Canterbury Press, New York, 2008).

In 2008, under the office of Mr. Yost, Delaware County denied seven election observers representing a third party access to the polls. Evidence of possible past election fraud was presented to the court to demonstrate the need for observers. Constitutional Party of Ohio v. Delaware County Board of Elections, 08 CV H 10 1462 (Delaware County Common Pleas Court, Ohio, filed Oct. 31, 2008.)...


While Yost oversteps his jurisdiction, Mary Taylor wastes time and state money on an extra audit of the lottery.

Only Half A Term?

Face it.  When Republican John Kasich ran for President in 2000, he was just another member of the House of Representatives.  In a Dispatch commentary, Joe Hallett says that Kasich would be happy with one term as governor.  I find that hard to believe.  Even though Kasich claims that he has no ambition to run for President again, there is a lot of speculation that he indeed wants to try for the White House, and that he'd use the governorship as a stepping stone to a national campaign.  Kasich has always been a very ambitious person, and very obnoxious.

Hallett also writes this in the Dispatch:

....But it is Kasich's cocksure nature, his arrogance that he and his team have all the answers that is worrisome. Fear of the voters has a tempering effect, and a good portion of them could be ignored by Kasich if he doesn't care about a second term. Balancing the next budget should involve a humanely measured blend of service cuts, revenue raisers and government reforms. Kasich has foreclosed one of those options by foolishly signing a no-new-tax pledge. If Kasich depends mainly on deep cuts, he could risk being perceived as indifferent to Ohioans' needs, including adequate public safety and education..... 

When Kasich was in Congress, the cuts that he tried to make were those that would have hurt the poor, the middle class,the elderly, and college students.  Kasich's plan back then was to make those cuts to programs, but to then get tax cuts for the rich.  Kasich's lack of empathy was evident then and it is evident now.  Sure he'd make cuts to the state programs, but what groups would suffer the most---- school children, state employees' families, the working poor, college students, etc.

Has anyone heard Kasich offer remorse for the millions of dollars of losses that the state pension funds had after he laid the groundwork for them to invest with Lehman Brothers? 

Millionaires' Club

Fabulously wealthy, former investment bank, John Kasich got together with Mitt Romney, also a multi-millionaire, at a private country club in Mansfield, Ohio. Nothing says elitist like "private country club!"

{Do you know what a "private" country club is?  It is a club that does not have its membership open to the public.  Only "special qualified" people get "invited" to join.}

ProgressOhio has more:

...Talking before the private Westbrook Country Club luncheon with Mitt Romney in tow, Kasich said, ""We're here to raise money and spread the word. This has been an area that has given me good support."

Strickland met with about a dozen steelworkers as the governor was in Lorain to break ground for a recreational area on part of the diked disposal site near Spitzer Lakeside Marina.

After that ceremony, Strickland walked over to meet laid-off REP steelworkers who said U.S. Steel won’t buy from Republic Engineered Products and REP management won’t communicate with its workers....

So while Kasich tries to take away people's pensions, disrespects teachers and hardworking union members, Gov. Strickland keeps his promise to meet with out of work steelworkers.

Which group do you think enjoyed cocktails?

Protecting Consumers?

With joint committees of the House and the Senate finished with the Financial Regulations bill, Republican congressional candidate, Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist, is offering his sympathy to his banking friends.  Stivers and his banking buddies don't like the new finreg bill because it protects consumers, and makes more demands of bankers and banks. You wonder how anyone could be against consumer protection!!!!!! It looks like Stivers is.

Here are a few of the changes that the FinReg bill will bring to Wall Street, from an article by Reuters:

...CONSUMER WATCHDOG: Protection of financial consumers would be enhanced by increased government regulation....

...BANK CUSHIONS: Banks would have to set aside more capital to ride out tough times, but will get several years to comply....


....DEBIT CARDS: Fees charged on debit card transactions would be reduced -- a victory for retailers over the banks.


See the rest of the list at this Reuters link.


>  I bet that former investment banker, John Kasich, doesn't like this new financial regulation bill.  Gosh.  If this law had been in force before Kasich introduced the state pension funds to his pals at Lehmans Brothers, perhaps they wouldn't have lost millions and millions and millions of dollars with Lehman Brothers.

 Has Kasich released any additional tax returns?  Did he get a bonus from Lehman for bringing the state pension plans to them?  I guess we won't know until he shows us his tax returns.

I'd like to thank the good people over at Plunderbund  for reminding me about another famous Kasich goof.  Plunderbund:

...Chairman Kasich went even further than either Angle or Paul has publicly stated.  During his time in Congress, Kasich advocated abolishing the Department of Commerce, the Department of Energy, end funding for legal aid, and end funding for public broadcasting.  That’s right, John Kasich wanted to kill Elmo....

Please visit Plunderbund for more details about Kasich and Rob Portman.

Gohmert Needs to Read

Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert is from Texas.  Periodically, Gohmert compares people to Hitler in his speeches and appearances.  This time, according to Think Progress, Gohmert used Hitler's name again:

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) drew a comparison between President Obama and Hitler in a speech on the House floor last night that quoted a recent op-ed by conservative columnist Thomas Sowell..... 


Mr. Gohmert obviously knows nothing about history.  I'd like to suggest that Mr. Gohmert go to the U.S. Holocaust Museum because he seems to know very little about  history. While in the Holocaust Museum, he should get a reading list. (I have my own list of suggested books for Gohmert.) Mr. Gohmert needs to read materials from real historians, not historical revisionists.

This isn't the first time Gohmert has compared Obama to Hitler.  In 2009, Gohmert compared Obama to Hitler on a radio show (see AdamHolland blog). Gohmert has compared others to Hitler, including gays (see Vodpod). 

Here is my suggested reading list (see below) for Louie Gohmert so that he can learn what happened in Germany from 1919-1945.  He needs to learn the truth about Hitler, the Nazis, and the Holocaust so that he won't make such ridiculous comparisons.


The Holocaust, by Martin Gilbert
Night, by Elie Wiesel
The Theory and Practice of Hell, by Eugen Kogon
Smoke and Ashes, by Barbara Rogasky
The Hiding Place, by Corrie TenBoom
Friedrich, Hans Richter

As a former history teacher, and a person who visited Germany after the fall of communism, I know that if Gohmert really knew what Hitler did, he'd stop his comparisons.  Gohmert is a deacon in his church and he should know better.

Notes and Updates....

This just in.... As reported on MSNBC-TV, Gen. McChrystal has been relieved of his command.  Gen. Petraeus will be his successor.

President Obama is scheduled to meet with Gen. McChrystal this morning at 9:45am.  This follows the publishing of the story in Rolling Stone magazine.  The President will have a statement at approximately 11:30am.

***  DaytonDailyNews:


Gov. Ted Strickland led a list of VIP’s at the Tuesday, June 22, official opening of Dayton Power & Light’s Yankee Solar Array....

.....DP&L’s 1.1 megawatt facility at 9975 Yankee St. should be able to supply, on average, 150 households annually with power. On bright days, estimates indicate it could kick out enough power for up to 750 homes, a potent source during peak air-conditioning season. In July, the facility’s information display that shows hourly power output will be open to the public.

Last week, Juwi Solar Inc., of Colorado announced it finished installing Ohio’s largest solar power array, a 12-megawatt project in Wyandot County. Juwi said it also agreed to build solar systems for three high schools there. The Wyandot project began generating on May 26 for Columbus Southern Power and Ohio Power Company, operating companies of American Electric Power....

*****  ColumbusDispatch:

Coda Automotive has submitted its application for a federal loan that would enable the company to build a battery factory in Columbus.
Now, company and city and state leaders will need to wait for the U.S. Department of Energy to consider the plan and make a decision. How long that might be is not known. The factory would provide about 1,000 manufacturing jobs....

 ***************

Swing State Project has an update about the governor's race in Ohio. (Note: I have purposely edited out words that some might find inappropriate.)  I'm sure you'll get the point about Kasich's remarks and the SwingStateProject's take on the Kasich's comments.

 > The view from SwingStateProject:

OH-Gov: As Dave Catanese says, on the campaign trail, "a candidate's humble upbringing is almost always safe from attack." So you really have to wonder why in the #*@k  John Kasich thought it would be a good idea to mock Ted Strickland's background, braying about his opponent: "Having grown up in a chicken shack on Duck Run, he has all but ignored our cities' economies and their workers." Not that you needed it, but even more evidencethat Kasich is a grade-A schmuck with a tin ear: He told Alan Colmes he would not be "singing in any chorus for LeBron James" to help keep the NBA uber-star Ohio' #1 Citizen in Cleveland....

By making fun of Strickland's childhood poverty, this only confirms our belief that John Kasich is a complete, pompous, rich, elitist, egomaniacal, schmuck. While Kasich got millions of dollars as an investment banker with Lehman Brothers, people in Ohio with money invested with Lehman saw their retirement funds lose money.  Not only did people lose money with Lehman, but they lost their security and peace of mind.

It is apparent the John Kasich doesn't care about anyone but himself and his rich friends.

McChrystal

***  President Obama will have a special meeting with General McChrystal.


Washington Post:

The top U.S. general in Afghanistan was summoned to Washington for a White House meeting after apologizing Tuesday for flippant and dismissive remarks about top Obama administration officials involved in Afghanistan policy.


The remarks in an article in this week's in Rolling Stone magazine are certain to increase tension between the White House and Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal.


The profile of McChrystal, , titled the "Runaway General," also raises fresh questions about the judgment and leadership style of the commander Obama appointed last year in an effort to turn around a worsening conflict....

I don't recall exactly how many top brass resigned/fired/retired under the last Bush  administration.  McChrystal might not like the questions and inquiries into the wars' progress and costs. We are spending billions and billions of dollars and have lost American lives. McChrystal should be willing to answer all questions and provide honest answers. Are McChrystal's politics getting in the way of his duties?  Is McChrystal being insubordinate?

Signs for Your Door

Seth Morgan, former Republican candidate for Ohio Auditor, will be helping the Kasich campaign, according to the Dayton Daily News.

Since the Kasich campaign will be going door-to-door in Franklin County, it might be time to put up a sign that says:

No Soliciting by Former Employees of Lehman Brothers

or

If You Are A Republican, Go Away

or

This House Supports Democrats!

(Right wingers stay away!)

*  Nice posting at Buckeye State Blog's Facebook page:

Buckeye State Blog Dear Foursquare friend who just checked in at a Kettering, OH venue, could you check on Jon Husted's house for him?

 * Has Republican Joe Barton apologized to any corporate executives yet today????

*  Does anyone have an idea when John Kasich will release all of his tax returns????  Did someone mention the Twelfth of NEVER??????  Is he covering up bigger bonuses at Lehman Brothers? 

An Alternative to Boehner?

Remember when Republican leader, John Boehner, said this--
(from Business Insider.com reporting about the work of Talking Points Memo)


"I think the people responsible in the oil spill--BP and the federal government--should take full responsibility for what's happening there," Boehner said at his weekly press conference this morning.

Boehner's statement followed comments last Friday by US Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue who said he opposes efforts to stick BP, a member of the Chamber, with the bill. "It is generally not the practice of this country to change the laws after the game," he said. "Everybody is going to contribute to this clean up. We are all going to have to do it. We are going to have to get the money from the government and from the companies and we will figure out a way to do that."

So today I asked Boehner, "Do you agree with Tom Donohue of the Chamber that the government and taxpayers should pitch in to clean up the oil spill?" The shorter answer is yes....

John Boehner owns BP stock and has received campaign donations from the BP North America PAC.  It does seem that Boehner is just a little too close to this BP situation.  Besides, isn't Boehner always saying that government needs to be smaller and not pay for everything?  Do his ties to BP make him less trustworthy?  Why should anyone listen to Boehner's suggestion because he could benefit in one form or another from BP having to spend less money on the clean up operations?

When Boehner said that the government (you and me as taxpayers) should pay for the cleanup, was he speaking as a stockholder or politician with money from BP?


In the fight for a cleaner environment, oil and other fossil fuels are stumbling blocks.  We must move beyond fossil fuels and explore better ways of fueling things that use American innovation.  Why are the Republicans against working for a cleaner environment?  Do they like that yummy oil money more than their constituents?  I think that VoteVets.org has the right idea:

(Youtube: Votevets "On Guard")




Did you know that Democrat, Justin Coussoule, is running against Boehner for Ohio's 8th district?  Coussoule thinks we should have sustainable energy solutions because our dependence on oil threatens our national security. Visit the  Coussoule for Congress website or Justin Coussoule on Facebook.

More...

Apparently, Rep. Joe Barton, former oil executive at ARCO, has a long record of being pro-oil and anti-environment.  Barton also has a long history of inserting his oil-soaked foot into his mouth.

Time Magazine has eight of Barton's worst goof ups.  Here are just two---


In his 26 years in office, energy issues have defined Congressman Joe Barton's career. They've also defined his gaffes, as was evident Thursday when the Fort-Worth area Republican alienated even the members of his own caucus by apologizing to BP CEO Tony Hayward for what he initially called a White House $20 billion "shakedown," only to turn around later in the day and issue an apology for the impolitic apology. Here are eight of Barton's other not-so-finest moments in the limelight.

1. Barton is a long-time denier of global warming. He's called it "a triumph over good sense and science" and in 2007 hearings he told Al Gore , "You're not just off a little. You're totally wrong." In railing against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's passage of global warming legislation last year, Barton said: "You can't regulate God. Not even the Democratic majority in the U.S. Congress can regulate God." (See the top 10 political gaffes of 2009.)

2. That said, Barton has used the threat of global warming to combat something he hates even more: wind energy. In a 2009 hearing, Barton implied that wind is a "finite resource" and that harnessing it would "slow the winds down" which would "cause the temperature to go up."

 >> Check the Time website for the rest of the Barton list compiled by the magazine.

If you are interested in contributing to Barton's Democratic opponent,
David E. Cozad, visit the Cozad for Congress website.

It is time to move forward toward clean energy.  The only way to do this is to vote out those Republicans who love oil money more than their constituents.

Joe Barton-- Oil Man

There is a phenomenal post at Daily Kos by "blackwaterdog" about President Obama's accomplishment in getting BP to take both moral and financial responsibility for their massive oil spill.  There are a number of quotes by many people who are happy with President Obama's quiet, but relentless pursuit of making BP own up to their obligations. 

Also included in the post is this You Tube video called "How Dummies Report the Gulf Oil Crisis."

 

Thank goodness that President Obama  doesn't listen to those right wing talking heads and Republicans.  They will continue to criticize President Obama because they have  no alternatives to offer the American people and so they resort to trying to destroy him.

*  Rachel Maddow said that Rep. Joe "I apologize to BP" Barton is a former executive for ARCO.  ARCO, the Atlantic Richfield Company, was bought by.........BP.

Here is a new report on OpenSecrets about Barton:

After BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward had expressed his contrition to members of Congress for the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a long-time friend of the oil industry, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), today issued an apology to Hayward for his harsh treatment at the hands of the White House.

Barton, speaking at a congressional hearing, called the $20 billion escrow account set up by BP to pay for claims related to the spill, a "shakedown" on the part of the Obama administration....

...(Update 5:37 p.m.:) Additional Center for Responsive Politics analysis shows that Barton's candidate committee and leadership PAC combined have received $1.67 million from the oil and gas industry since the 1990 election cycle. 

No wonder Barton apologized to BP------ he loves their campaign money.  People on the Gulf, Barton doesn't feel your pain. 

Check out the new website---  http://joebartonwouldliketoapologize.com/

Sour Grapes

Now that the Kasich campaign has reacted with sour grapes about not getting the endorsement of the NRA, the Kasich people are acting like spoiled children.  It is clear to see why Strickland got the NRA endorsement.  All you need to do is look at Ted Strickland's previous endorsements/interest group ratings from when he was in Congress.  According to Project Vote Smart, Strickland had the following ratings by the NRA on gun issues while he served in Congress:

    2000 NRA rated Ted Strickland    A+
    2002 NRA rated Ted Strickland    A
    2004 NRA rated Ted Strickland    A


An opinion piece published in the Toledo Blade (obviously written by a Kasich supporter), said that Governor Strickland Caves in to the NRA...  What?  Apparently, the people in the Kasich campaign are now whining, screaming, and acting like two year olds because they didn't get their coveted endorsement from the NRA.


>>>  In an attempt to find something good to write about John "Lehman Brothers" Kasich, the Dispatch has a story that notes that Kasich has more small donors than Strickland.  I predict that next week, the Dispatch will say that Kasich has more right hand voters than the Governor.  The Dispatch and their right wing babble is getting ridiculous.


****  Even a newspaper in a Republican stronghold is reporting about the attempt by  the Kasich campaign to cover up the full losses of the OPERS pension fund.
The Lancaster Gazette:


A campaign operative of Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kasich gave a state pension fund advice on how to explain its Lehman Brothers losses to reporters, e-mail obtained by The Associated Press shows....

....The $59 billion pension fund, one of the largest in the state and nation, was preparing to answer questions about the losses as Democrats in Washington and Columbus were drawing attention to the issue. The party has made Kasich's time as a managing director at the now-defunct investment bank a central theme in Ohio's fall campaign for governor....


....In his May 3 e-mail, Kasich spokesman Scott Milburn advised Ohio Public Employees Retirement System executive Carol Drake that it would be "valuable to explain" that Lehman investments included not only Lehman stock and securities but money the firm invested in other companies, such as McDonald's....

As noted in the article, Scott Milburn and Carol Drake both worked for disgraced former Gov. Bob Taft, a Republican.  McDonald's stock?  Anyone with an interest in the stock market knows that the McDonald's stock has been doing extremely well for  years.


* Why did Josh Mandel vote against our schools?  Buckeye State Blog (3/19/10) has this:

Late yesterday it came to my attention that Josh Mandel, the Republican candidate for Treasurer of State, issued a big “screw you” to Ohio’s schools.
He did this by voting against H.B. 462; a reappropriations bill that, among other things, provides:

• $94.4 million for school construction and emergency school building assistance;
• $74.6 million for the popular voter-initiated Clean Ohio fund;
• $3.5 million to support the Ohio School for the Blind; and
• $4.3 million to expand “mandown” emergency alert services to the four Ohio correctional institutions without these life-saving services.

Not only did Mandel’s vote set him at odds with the majority of his Republican colleagues, it also put him at odds with himself. This bill was largely the same as the one two years ago, and Mandel voted yes on that one....





Shame.  Oh, no!  Mandel is a flip flopper!!!!  Why did Mandel not support our children and the children at the Ohio School for the Blind????????

Video

John Kasich appeared on MSNBC with Chris Matthews and Joan Walsh. When Joan Walsh noted that Kasich worked with Lehman Brothers, Kasich called it a "smear" (about 7 minutes into the video):

http://video.ca.msn.com/watch/video/discussing-rise-of-the-new-right/17y8u8fzb

Worth checking

*Make sure that you check out Maryellen O'Shaughnessy's Facebook Page. Maryellen is the Democratic candidate for Ohio Secretary of State.


* Have you visited Mr. Portman's Make Believe Neighborhood?

...Portman: I Owe My Career To The Bush Family. Talking about George
W. Bush, Portman said, “I feel like I really owe my political career to his
father.” Portman also said, “I have a loyalty and allegiance to making them
[the Bush administration] successful. I have a real commitment to that.” [The
Hill, 10/18/05; Cincinnati Enquirer, 3/18/05; AP, 3/29/03]

Portman: NAFTA Has Created Jobs In Ohio, Pennsylvania. During an appearance on
Fox News Sunday in June of 2008, Portman argued that the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) and trade with Canada have “created an enormous number of jobs.”
Portman continued, “Exports are one of the few bright spots in our economy right now. It’s
true in Pennsylvania. It’s true in Ohio.” [Fox News, Fox News Sunday, 6/29/08]

NAFTA Caused Nearly 50,000 Jobs to Be Lost in Ohio. Ohio has lost 49,886 jobs
between 1993 and 2004 as a result of NAFTA. [Economic Policy Institute, 7/20/05]....

There are more facts and quotes from Portman at the Mr. Portman's Make Believe Neighborhood and they've been provided by the DSCC.

Kasich Out of Ohio

Is John Kasich so overconfident that he'd spend time away from the state to launch his book? Kasich, according to Plunderbund, is in New York City, making appearances for his new book.

Has Kasich released his tax returns yet?

I was just wondering......has Mary Taylor been able to explain the Kasich plan to eliminate the state income tax?

The Examiner was reporting that the Kasich campaign people were bragging about some "hookup" with Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. Who cares? What does that have to do with us? Is Kasich unable to come up with plans of his own so he has to take them from someone else?

Once a bank lobbyist....

* Did you know that Rob Portman was such an insider in Washington, DC, that he was called "Mr. Washington" by nearly all the politicians? So much for Portman claiming to be an "outsider."


* Did you know that when Carly Fiorina was fired at HP that the stock went up dramatically?

CNN (Feb. 10, 2005):

Hewlett-Packard Co. Chairman and CEO Carly Fiorina, one of the most powerful women in corporate America, is leaving the troubled computer maker after being forced out by the company's board.

Shares of HP (Research) jumped 6.9 percent in heavy trading on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday on the news. But at one point, the stock was up as much as 10.5 percent....

....On a conference call with reporters, executives said Fiorina was not terminated for cause and that she would receive severance pay -- and a company spokesman said she'll get a payout of approximately $21 million...

There goes her claim to being a person who was successful in business. Wow! Her leadership did not help the company, she was fired, but she still got $21 million! $21 million!!!!?????


***** While Democratic Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15) works on cleaning up the mortgage mess, I'm reminded of when Steve Stivers voted against state regulation of mortgages.

Dispatch (5/25/06):

An anti-predatory lending bill that Republicans, Democrats and home-buyer advocates praised as one of the strongest consumer-protection measures in the nation won legislative approval yesterday.

...Gov. Bob Taft is expected to sign the measure, which for the first time would subject much of the mortgage industry to the state Consumer Sales Practices Act, giving borrowers and the attorney general's office more tools to go after deceptive lenders and brokers...

....Seven House Republicans voted against the bill, as did three Senate Republicans, including Steve Stivers of Columbus....

When will Steve Stivers stop working as a bank lobbyist and start defending homeowners and regular people?

Late night post...

* The Ohio State University:

Ohio State will award diplomas to largest class ever

A record 8,652 students, who are among the brightest in the university’s history, will earn degrees during Ohio State’s spring commencement on Sunday (6/13) in Ohio Stadium Approximately 6,300 students are expected to participate in the ceremony, which begins at noon. Ohio State is one of the few universities where all graduates participate in a single ceremony, and where each graduate gets his or her diploma at the ceremony....

Congratulations! Go Buckeyes!


* Just asking---- Did John Kasich release his tax records yet?

Some Facts and Figures

The Dayton Daily News found an interesting fact about John Kasich:

As a state senator running for Congress, Republican John Kasich voluntarily released three years of income tax returns and challenged his opponent to do the same, according to newspaper articles published in 1982....

“This is pure hypocrisy,” said Lis Smith, spokesman for Gov. Ted Strickland’s re-election campaign. “After releasing his tax returns and touting his transparency in his 1982 campaign for Congress, Congressman Kasich is now saying that Ohioans don’t have a right to know how much money he made working at Lehman Brothers, sitting on corporate boards, and giving paid professional speeches across the country.”

Paul Beck, a professor at Ohio State, added this----

“The danger for the Kasich people, is it will look like he is hiding something and that will force him maybe in the end to release them — unless of course he really is hiding something,’’ said Paul Beck, a professor of political science at Ohio State University. “I think what Kasich has to worry about is people will sort of develop this impression of him as someone who got rich on Wall Street at a time when Wall Street was doing things that proved to very detrimental to us. He doesn’t want them to form that impression.’’

What is Kasich hiding????


*** Cincinnati.com has a comparison between the two candidates for Ohio Auditor:

A Republican auditor candidate caught in a bitter tea-party turf battle this spring has raised only a fraction of the campaign cash of his Democratic rival in the most recent reporting period.

GOP Auditor candidate David Yost reported raising $50,509 to Democrat David Pepper’s $437,000. At the end of the post-primary reporting period, Pepper had $1.2 million in the bank compared to Yost’s $38,000....

David Pepper is an immensely popular and highly-qualified candidate:

....In 2006, David challenged Hamilton County Commission President (and former Lt. Gov candidate) Phil Heimlich in 2006, after the County’s direction reached a low point under the Heimlich-DeWine majority. By winning numerous cross-over voters, and winning outright in some traditionally Republican areas, David (53%) was the leading Democratic vote getter of all the Democrats (statewide) on the County ballot. David’s win marked the first time Democrats have held the County majority in 40 years.

Taking office in January 2007, David arrived at a County government that had been badly mismanaged—a squandered reserve fund, wasteful spending, questionable ethics and management practices, poor relations with the state and City, and underinvested and unsuccessful economic development. Since he arrived, David has fought to clean up the mess: adding fiscally prudent policies and reforms to assure responsibility and accountability while eliminating waste and reducing overall spending by tens of millions of dollars; implementing ethics reforms; improving relations with the city and state; pushing to reform the criminal justice system; and investing in new economic growth and recovery strategies, creating thousands of jobs and successfully moving forward on the Banks project to revitalize Ohio and Cincinnati’s riverfront.....

Check out David Pepper's website for more information.

NO to BP

Republicans continue to ask for small government, but now one of their leaders wants us (taxpayers) to pay for the BP cleanup. What a hypocrite!!!!!!

Injuryboard.com:

“It is generally not the practice of this country to change the laws after the game," said Tom Donohue, the president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. ". . . Everybody is going to contribute to this clean up. We are all going to have to do it. We are going to have to get the money from the government and from the companies and we will figure out a way to do that."

....In response to a specific question about whether he supports Donohue and the Chamber, House Minority Leader John Boehner said he agrees.

"I think the people responsible in the oil spill--BP and the federal government--should take full responsibility for what's happening there," Boehner said at his weekly press conference Thursday morning....

Boehner is an idiot. Why should I personally bail out a company that made mistakes, ruined our coast, killed our people, destroyed our environment and animal life, and destroyed the income of those who depend on the sea to make a living? My only beef is with BP the company, and their corporate leaders (and------- now the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Boehner).

John Boehner has continued to take the side of companies, corporations, CEO's, and lobbyists. He has never demonstrated concern for regular ordinary Americans. Why do the people in Ohio's 8th district continue to vote for Boehner?

According to OpenSecrets, John Boehner has received $258,350 in contributions over his career from the oil and gas industry. Here is the rest of Boehner's total in campaign contributions (career) as collected by OpenSecrets:

Industry	Total
Insurance	$986,996
Securities & Investment	$764,336
Misc Manufacturing & Distributing	$683,416
Retired	$556,984
Commercial Banks	$550,319
Health Professionals	$530,411
Real Estate	$471,248
Lawyers/Law Firms	$448,941
Electric Utilities	$432,030
Pharmaceuticals/Health Products	$410,980
Automotive	$319,917
General Contractors	$307,852
Food Processing & Sales	$301,015
Lobbyists	$291,940
Hospitals/Nursing Homes	$259,175
Oil & Gas	$258,350
Food & Beverage	$257,458
Retail Sales	$255,957
Beer, Wine & Liquor	$254,225
Accountants	$250,075

By the way, did you know that there are some people who want John Boehner to be Speak of the House? Are they serious? If, heaven forbid, the Republicans gained the majority in the House of Representatives, Boehner could easily become Speaker. We cannot allow this apologist for BP to control the legislation and possibly support a bailout for BP.

If Boehner wants to personally bailout BP, he can use the millions of dollars he has in his campaign contributions or some of his own personal wealth.

NO
BAILOUT
FOR

BP

Oh, Please!

Is John Kasich just trying to reinvent himself? According to the DaytonDailyNews, Kasich plans to have a new website where he will solicit ideas from the public on how to fix Ohio. There are several reasons Kasich might be doing this:

1. The National Republican Party already has a similar site and Kasich, not known for having his own original ideas, is just copying their concept.

2. He is just trying to re-launch his pathetic, monotonous campaign propaganda because it has already bored most people in the state.

3. Kasich is trying to get some attention away from his Wall Street career. He wants to distract people away from the fact that his former employer, Lehman Brothers, risked and lost millions of dollars from Ohio pension funds.


>>>>> I noticed that there are many disgruntled people from Dayton who leave comments on the various political news items written by the Dayton Daily News. They wonder why Dayton/Kettering seems to have lost so much.

Jon Husted, elected from Kettering, got so bored with the area that he left, married someone in Upper Arlington, and hardly ever returns to his house in Kettering. Husted doesn't care about Kettering and has invested his time and campaign money in going for higher office. Kettering and Dayton are the last things on Husted's mind. (Why do you think he missed the NCR move?)

Big shot, John "NO!" Boehner, is so full of himself, his golf score, his suntan, and his extravagant lifestyle (hanging out with lobbyists on fancy golf courses, sipping champagne) that he has paid little attention to bringing jobs back to his home district. Why do people continue to vote for this self-centered clown? What has he done for you lately?

Dayton and Kettering are suffering because Boehner and Husted are more concerned with their own needs and ambitions than those of their constituents. It is as simple as that. As long as you continue to vote for Boehner and Husted, you will miss the opportunity to improve your lives.

Kasich Caught On Tape

As ModernEsquire notes at Plunderbund:

....The amazing thing is that despite his private sector experience involves almost entirely of the biggest bankruptcy in American history, John Kasich still presents himself as a “successful businessman.”

DaytonDailyNews:
Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate John Kasich tried to persuade two state pension funds in 2002 to invest with Lehman Brothers while he was the managing director of the investment banking house’s Columbus office.

In a reply to questions, Kasich campaign officials acknowledged that the former Columbus-area congressman helped arrange the two meetings between Lehman officials and representatives of the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund and the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, known as OPERS...

Cantonrep.com:

State records show that Ohio’s public pension funds lost more than $480 million as a result of the collapse of banking giant Lehman Brothers....



Huffington Post found John Kasich admitting what we already knew (You Tube):



In case you missed it-
In 2008 John Kasich admitted, "I work on Wall Street."


Kasich is planning on a visit to Dublin, Ohio. Dublin has one of the best school districts in the state. Students and teachers work hard and have demonstrated excellence in the classroom. However, if Kasich is elected governor of Ohio, Dublin stands to lose a lot when Kasich starts making his budget cuts.


Kasichcuts:

Reckless Kasich Cuts in Franklin County:

$32,487,086

cut from local police and fire departments,
parks, public health and other local services.

$15,619,976

cut from local libraries.

$172,234,247

cut from local school districts.

$4,846,004

cut from Dublin City SD.

Parents, students, teachers, and all residents of Dublin need to ask Kasich what other cuts he'll make if elected. Where will the Dublin school district and the city of Dublin find the money to fund programs, employ teachers/firefighters/police/librarians/support staff, and continue the excellence in their schools if Kasich is elected?

Complete Opposites

The Dayton Daily News has compared the congressional voting record of Gov. Ted Strickland with former Lehman Brothers investment banker, John Kasich.

Dayton Daily News:

During the six years Democrat Ted Strickland and Republican John Kasich served together in Congress, they were on opposite sides of issues such as guns, taxes and trade.....

....A Dayton Daily News examination of Strickland and Kasich’s years in Congress reveals a stark contrast in how they approach issues. Kasich voted against raising the minimum wage, increasing funding for a nutritional program for pregnant women, and against the Clinton balanced budget that included a tax increase. He voted in favor of NAFTA and free trade with China, limiting lawsuit damages for small businesses, eliminating 252,000 federal jobs, and making deep spending cuts.

Strickland voted the opposite way....

The article goes on and notes that Kasich has yet to reveal what programs he'd cut or his "positions on issues." The story failed to note that Kasich tried to end grants for poor college students and student aid. He also tried to cut funding for poor children, working families, while still giving tax cuts to the rich.

With Kasich unwilling to share anything, including his tax returns, voters are left wondering exactly where he stands on important programs, how many public schools and libraries he'd close, and possible cuts. In the past, Kasich always supported tax cuts for the rich while being willing to sacrifice the lives of children, students, and working families. Are we to surmise that he'd take this type of action again?

Ohio Charter Schools = Money Pits

I had a conversation with a teacher that works at one of Ohio's charter schools. The teacher told me that the school had no windows in the classrooms, no area for outside play, no books, and a principal that did not have the proper certification. Yet our Ohio tax dollars continue to fund these worthless schools where children are being warehoused ---- not educated. The only people benefiting from the charter schools are the multi-millionaire owners and the Ohio Republican politicians who receive those huge campaign contributions from them.


* A new poll? Politics Daily is reporting that a new Rasmussen Poll has Democrat Lee Fisher and Republican Rob Portman tied. Rob Portman, friend of the Bush family and former member of the last Bush administration, is trying to shake off questions about how China got so many of our jobs.

Plunderbund has a great post about Rob Portman and his ties to oil and gas, as well as Halliburton.

The GOOD and the Bad

----Of course, I'll start out with the good.


* THE GOOD!

If you've read this blog before, you know I'm a big fan of President Obama. When President Obama became President, he was left an economic disaster, two wars, huge unemployment, bank failures, failures in diplomacy, etc., etc. President Obama has done a great job trying to straighten out the mess left by his predecessor.

Just like Lenny Kates says, "Be grateful for President Obama." (see post at Daily Kos) I am grateful! He has made tough decisions and has tried to right the wrongs of the previous administration. More of us need to stand up and say, "I am grateful for President Obama." In doing this, we can shut up the loud, right wing, obnoxious, NO-voting, Republicans.

______________

* The Bad: Sexual Discrimination is Bad!

There are several reasons that I don't shop at Wal-Mart. Here is another one---NY Times:

Lawyers Warned Wal-Mart of Risks Years Before Bias Suit

...The law firm, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, found widespread gender disparities in pay and promotion at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores and urged the company to take basic steps — like posting every job opening and creating specific goals to promote women and minorities — to avoid liability....

....The report examined employment patterns at all Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores. It found that men employed by Wal-Mart as department managers, an hourly position, earned 5.8 percent more than women in those positions in 1993 ($236.80 versus $223.70). Men in salaried jobs earned $644.20 a week compared with $540.50 for women.

Akin Gump also found large disparities in job assignments. Fifty-five percent of women were initially hired as cashiers compared with 12 percent of men. Twenty-nine percent of men were initially hired in receiving jobs like unloading, which generally pay at least 20 percent more than cashier jobs, compared with 7 percent of women....

I hope that those women suing Wal-Mart win and win BIG!!!! How can Wal-Mart defend paying women less?

Are you adding them up?

Republican congressional candidate Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist, want to repeal a total of 2 Amendments and one law. Stivers says that the 16th and 17th Amendment to the Constitution should be repealed, as well as the health care reform law.

It is incredible that Stivers is so dissatisfied with the Constitution. Are there other amendments and laws that he'd like to repeal?

**** Rob Portman, Republican candidate for the Senate, has been getting big bucks from big business. If you look over the FEC list of the contributions he has received, you'll notice that big business really likes him, including PACs representing:
BP, Halliburton, American Express, BankPAC, Ameriprise, Areva, AT&T, AXA Equitable, Blue Cross Blue Shield PAC, Caterpillar, Chamber of Commerce of the U.S., Cigna, Citigroup, Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers, Dow Chemical, Duke Energy, Edward Jones,
Exxon Mobil, Farmers Group, Fifth Third Bank, Financial Services Roundtable, Flour Corp., General Mills, Glaxosmithkline, Grange Mutual, Guardian Life, HCR Manor Care, Honeywell, Humana, Huntington Bank, International Franchise Assoc., International Paper, Johnson & Johnson, Koch Industries, Kraft Foods, Marathon Oil, Mass. Mutual, McKesson Corp., Metlife, National Roofing Contractors, Nationwide, NY Life Insurance, Northwestern Mutual Life, Owens Corning, Procter & Gamble, Rolls-Royce North America, SAIC Inc. SARAH PAC, SUNOCO, Textron, Timken, Travelers Companies, U.S. Bancorp, United Health, U.S. Steel, Valero Energy, Verizon, VSS&P, Wal-Mart, Wellpoint, Wholesaler-Distributor PAC of the National Assoc. of Wholesale-Distributors, etc., etc.

This does not represent all the PACs that have contributed, but you get the picture. Portman will take care of the millionaires instead of regular people. Portman should have a bumper sticker that says,
Rob Portman: Making the Rich Richer, and the Poor Poorer!

Will Hatch go after Issa?

I saw this over at Dailykos and thought it deserved a mention. Apparently, Rep. Darrell Issa also has made some claims about his own military career, which was published by SFgate.com in 1998:

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Darrell Issa says that during the Vietnam War he served with an elite Army bomb unit, traveling with then-President Richard Nixon to protect him from harm.

He attended baseball's World Series in 1971 as part of the president's security entourage, Issa once told an interviewer....

(Note: Nixon did not attend that World Series.)

....According to records and interviews, Issa's service on the bomb squad was marred by a bad conduct rating, a demotion and allegations that he had stolen a fellow soldier's car...

Ouch! For more details, read the entire article at SFgate.com. Will Sen. Hatch's plan called "Stolen Valor" also call into question some of Issa's claims?

Oil, Oil, Oil

With the BP oil still pouring out into the Gulf of Mexico, Americans are just becoming aware of BP's safety record. Rachel Maddow mentioned this on her program last night on MSNBC.

The stockmasters:
Did you know that BP Plc (NYSE

:BP) has 760 OSHA violations while competitor Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) only had one?
How is BP even allowed to operate? Remember the big Alaskan pipeline debacle in 2007? That was BP. Or what about the refinery that blew up in 2005? BP once again. And the worst part is, they were fined $86 million for not fixing the problem that caused the 2005 refinery disaster.....
....In the last five years, investigators found, BP has admitted to breaking U.S. environmental and safety laws and committing outright fraud. BP paid $373 million in fines to avoid prosecution....

What a mess!

President Obama is moving forward with a great idea---take away tax breaks for oil companies.

WMBF.com:
President Barack Obama says it's time to roll back "billions of dollars in tax breaks" for oil companies and use the money for clean energy research and development.

Obama made the comments Wednesday in prepared remarks for a speech at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

He said the catastrophic Gulf oil spill shows the country must move toward clean energy by embracing energy efficiency, tapping natural gas and nuclear power and eliminating tax breaks for big oil....

I agree. Why should oil companies get tax breaks, especially when they are endangering their employees and our environment? While they make billions and billions of dollars in profits, they continue to thumb their noses at regulations and safety rules. It is time that we get these oil companies to shape up.

While other countries around the world have progressed in using other types of energy, our nation has been using the same fossil fuels without trying to do things better. We need to move forward and away from the dangerous and dirty fossil fuels.

Blame It On Bush Cheney!

Which President and Vice President allowed the Wall Street titans to go wild while they looked the other way? Bush and Cheney

Which President and Vice President allowed oil companies like BP to operate without creating emergency plans to protect the environment? Bush and Cheney


When President George W. Bush came into office, Cheney had a super secret meeting with oil companies, as detailed in the Washington Post:

A White House document shows that executives from big oil companies met with Vice President Cheney's energy task force in 2001 -- something long suspected by environmentalists but denied as recently as last week by industry officials testifying before Congress.

The document, obtained this week by The Washington Post, shows that officials from Exxon Mobil Corp., Conoco (before its merger with Phillips), Shell Oil Co. and BP America Inc. met in the White House complex with the Cheney aides who were developing a national energy policy, parts of which became law and parts of which are still being debated....

....Chevron was not named in the White House document, but the Government Accountability Office has found that Chevron was one of several companies that "gave detailed energy policy recommendations" to the task force. In addition, Cheney had a separate meeting with John Browne, BP's chief executive, according to a person familiar with the task force's work; that meeting is not noted in the document...

What did the Bush-Cheney team say to the oil company VIPs? Although there has been a lot of discussion about these meetings, we can surmise that oil companies were told something that

1. made them happy, 2. allowed them to operate without governmental interference.

BP and the oil companies had operated under a hands-off policy from Bush-Cheney. Now with this environmental disaster growing, BP is unable to come up with an emergency response because they've never had to plan ahead for one. They were never required to prepare disaster plans, and now we see the results. How many people in the government agency that overseas oil drilling were leftovers from the Bush administration? Have the Republican Senators who have failed to vote for new appointments been accessories to this disaster?