Wednesday, August 31, 2011
President Obama's Job Speech
President Obama has a plan to get people back to work. He wants to deliver a speech before a joint session of Congress, but Republican John Boehner doesn't want it scheduled for September 7th. What?????
The Republicans have not delivered any legislation on jobs. As a matter of fact, the Republicans in the House of Representatives have been lazy, vacation-taking, pompous, corporate leaning members. They've done nothing but try to repeal laws.
If the President goes ahead and delivers the speech in front of just Democrats and Independents, it only further solidifies the Republican do-nothing House of Representatives. People want jobs, but the Republicans are not even remotely interested.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
No Thanks!
The Toledo Blade:
He refused, referring to Walmart as an “anti-union corporation, one of the largest supporters of underperforming charter schools and supporter of [Senate Bill 5],” according to a message Mr. Dalton wrote on the union’s Web site.....
I would have refused the gift cards from Walmart. Thank you to the unions and Kroger for providing the gift cards to teachers. We know our friends.
***** Why does Ohio Secretary of State want to withhold applications for absentee ballots? Is he afraid that more people will vote? Is this just another way for Jon Husted to "block the vote" for Democrats? Something happened last night that might change things----
WestlakePatch:
I agree. We know what Ohio's Republicans can do with voting machines. People are afraid that the Ohio Republicans will do a rerun of the 2004 election--- lack of voting machines in Democratic precincts, backroom "counting" of ballots, right wing goons showing up to discourage voting, non-working voting machines, etc., etc., etc. We've seen their ugliness and we don't want to experience it again.
Should I trust any directive that comes out of the office of the Ohio Secretary of State? No way.
Local unions along with Kroger announced Tuesday they will donate $100 gift cards to 130 Toledo teachers for classroom supplies.
The move comes several weeks after Walmart approached Toledo Public Schools with a similar proposition, with the requirement that Toledo Federation of Teachers president Kevin Dalton to publicly endorse Walmart, according to Mr. Dalton.
I would have refused the gift cards from Walmart. Thank you to the unions and Kroger for providing the gift cards to teachers. We know our friends.
Vote NO on Issue 2.
=====================================
***** Why does Ohio Secretary of State want to withhold applications for absentee ballots? Is he afraid that more people will vote? Is this just another way for Jon Husted to "block the vote" for Democrats? Something happened last night that might change things----
WestlakePatch:
Cuyahoga County plans to again mail out applications for absentee ballots to all voters -- a victory for local election officials and an important decision in Strongsville.
Cuyahoga County Council voted last night to override opposition from Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted and support County Executive Ed FitzGerald's decision to continue mailing the applications.
"We can't go back to the days of long lines and voter confusion," Cuyahoga County Vice President Sunny Simon said in a news release. "Our elections board has implemented key reforms -- and they've worked. Our ability to vote is a fundamental right that must come first."
I agree. We know what Ohio's Republicans can do with voting machines. People are afraid that the Ohio Republicans will do a rerun of the 2004 election--- lack of voting machines in Democratic precincts, backroom "counting" of ballots, right wing goons showing up to discourage voting, non-working voting machines, etc., etc., etc. We've seen their ugliness and we don't want to experience it again.
Should I trust any directive that comes out of the office of the Ohio Secretary of State? No way.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Americans Want FEMA & Government Services
* After the devastation of Hurricane Irene, Republican leader, Eric Cantor, Koch Brothers friend, said the following--- Fredericksburg.com:
....Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Henrico, has said he believes federal aid should be offset by spending cuts in other areas. Cantor repeated those comments today on national television....
A government exists to protect and help the people. Eric Cantor is wrong in trying to balance out the budget by taking from one group of people to give to another. I think that Cantor is too easily influenced by the Koch Brothers.
I also find the response by Republican Rep. Ron Paul unsatisfactory.
Think Progress:
Ron Paul On Hurricane Irene: Response Should Be Like It Was In 1900 | Taking his anti-government ideology to its logical extreme, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) told NBC News’ Jo Ling Kent today that there should be no national response to Hurricane Irene, and that government responses should revert back to how they were over 100 years ago. “We should be like 1900, we should be like 1940 1950 1960,” he said. “I live on the gulf coast, we deal with hurricanes all the time.” Of course, the Gulf Coast sometimes deals with them less well thanks to a botched national response. Paul, who has called for abolishing FEMA, dismissed the organization because it is “a great contribution to deficit financing.”
If Ron Paul wants to return to the way things were 50 to over 100 years ago, I think he should be able to live that way. If he wants to go live in the jungle/woods somewhere in a cabin, without running water, electricity, toilets, telephones, the internet, automobiles, and modern medicine, he should be able to make that choice for himself. However, his admiration for the "olden days" is not shared by a majority of Americans. Americans want our government to respond to emergencies and disasters. We want our government there to help us, provide services, and safety.
____________________
Politico had a very interesting article today: Is Rick Perry Dumb?
Here are some excerpts from the Politico piece:
....Strip away the euphemisms and Rick Perry is confronting an unavoidable question: Is he dumb — or just “misunderestimated?”
Doubts about Perry’s intellect have hounded him since he was first elected as a state legislator nearly three decades ago. In Austin, he’s been derided as a right-place, right-time pol who looks the part but isn’t so deep — “Gov. Goodhair.” Now, with the chatter picking back up among his enemies and taking flight in elite Republican circles, the rap threatens to follow him to the national stage.
Whoa!
Gov. Perry keeps talking about his jobs program, but according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Texas has an unemployment rate of 8.4%. That is dismal. (Ohio's unemployment rate is 9% under the guidance of John Kasich.)
The MeasureofAmerica (data provided by the American Human Development Project of the Social Science Research Council) has this statistic about Texas:
20.4% of Texans have less than a high school diploma.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Kasich: Preparing to Sell Off More Parts of Ohio
*** Great post over at DailyKos by davej in which he has three charts to email to your right wing relative. It is worth a look.
* The Plaindealer:
Gov. John Kasich is taking another step toward privatizing the operations of the Ohio Lottery Commission.
It seems the only people getting jobs are Kasich's consultants. How much will the next "consultant" make off of this Kasich plan?
>>> The Fifth Column at KayStreet has The 244 Accomplishments of President Obama list. Print up a copy for reference.
**** I guess the New York Times refused to publish a retraction that had been demanded by Darrell Issa. The Fifth Column has all the details.
* The Plaindealer:
Gov. John Kasich is taking another step toward privatizing the operations of the Ohio Lottery Commission.
The administration plans to hire a consultant to look at the nuts and bolts of converting the $2.6 billion lottery into a quasi-government agency and determine its value......
.....The state's contract with Moelis is a source of controversy because it allowed the company to net $13 million in incentive fees for negotiating higher license fees from casino companies and for helping close a deal to bring video lottery terminals, or VLTs, to horse race tracks, a move initiated by former Gov. Ted Strickland. Moelis also receives a monthly retainer worth $200,000.....
It seems the only people getting jobs are Kasich's consultants. How much will the next "consultant" make off of this Kasich plan?
>>> The Fifth Column at KayStreet has The 244 Accomplishments of President Obama list. Print up a copy for reference.
**** I guess the New York Times refused to publish a retraction that had been demanded by Darrell Issa. The Fifth Column has all the details.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Ohio's Nursing Home Cuts
* Families with loved ones in nursing homes are going to be hit even harder because of the cuts perpetrated by Gov. John Kasich and the Republicans in the state legislature. With nursing home care costing in the neighborhood of $5,000 to $7,000 per month, families will need to make some difficult decisions concerning the care of their spouse, child, parent, or grandparent. Many families have taken care of ill relatives in their homes, but there are other families that may face the harsh realities of home care because state assistance to nursing homes has been cut. Caring for the elderly can be expensive, exhausting, and complicated. If you run into a problem, it might be worth it to hire an attorney that specializing in legal issues involving elder car.
Bizjournals:
.....Kasich has also tangled with the state’s nursing homes, and there isn’t much they can do about the $360 million the Ohio legislature slashed from their Medicaid reimbursement.
That’s on top of an 11 percent decrease in Medicare rates, which goes into effect Oct. 1 and will cut about $406 million in reimbursements for Ohio nursing homes over the next two years.....
.....the impact will hit ordinary Ohioans just as hard if they have an elderly family member who can’t live independently. If sick, elderly people are cared for in their homes, the caregivers will be either paid home care staffers, family members or a combination of the two.....
I still think that caregivers need to organize a protest in front of Kasich's home and the Statehouse to show opposition to these horrible cuts. It isn't fair to our loved ones and families that Kasich and the GOP have made these cuts in order to provide business incentives to their business buddies.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Out of touch?
* Republican Josh Mandel, candidate for U.S. Senate, is making up stories about his accomplishments. Unfortunately for Mandel, he didn't initiate some of the things he is claiming. Plunderbund has the details. People are concerned that Mandel's legislative resume is light on substance
* The WashingtonMonthly has a rather unflattering look at Republican Rep. Steve Chabot (OH-1st). Chabot seems like he is not interested in facts or the concerns of his constituents. Is Chabot just a plain puppet of some right wingers? Does he have any knowledge about facts? Does he even care or is he just following orders from someone or some group?
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Teachers Know the Facts
I am not fond of people that tell me that I don't know anything. In an effort to go after certain groups within the We Are Ohio coalition, the Ohio Republicans are trying to divide the unions. At his Twitter account, Jai Chabria, Gov. Kasich's over paid "assistant" and former co-worker from Lehman Brothers, is telling teachers that that they deserve facts. Really?
I find this insulting. Why is he targeting teachers? The teaching profession is predominantly female, and I'm wondering if Chabria, Kasich, and their ilk think that teachers are an easy mark. Why would teachers want to give up the rights that they enjoy on the job? We are smarter than that. We don't need Kasich, Chabria, and the Ohio GOP telling us lies. Together we stand against SB 5.
Vote NO on Issue 2.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Eyes on Kasich
A very interesting column at today's Huffington Post shows that lots of people from around the nation are looking at Gov. John Kasich's actions. To be honest, I don't think most people admire Kasich's attacks on the working middle class people in Ohio. Those of us who are against SB 5 and plan to vote against Issue 2, should take a look at Dan Bimrose's take on SB 5 and Kasich's talk about compromise.
HuffingtonPost:
....Ohio citizens were so unhappy with this bill that they started gathering signatures so that the people could vote on the bill themselves. 231,149 signatures were required. More than 1.3 million signatures were obtained.....
....It is rumored that many campaign donors have asked that their donations be returned. Perhaps he just wants to make sure his campaign coffers are kept full.....
....It would not surprise me if the powers that be in national Republican politics just may have sent a message to John Kasich. The message may have strongly suggested that unless he puts the SB5 situation to rest very soon then he should expect no national party support in his efforts to win reelection....
I hope that those groups that have rescinded their endorsements of Republican candidates have asked for a refund of their contributions. It can be done.
Even though Kasich has been seen on the national media bragging about how he has turned around Ohio, those of us in the state know the truth: Kasich has not improved anything in Ohio--- school funding has been decreased, transparency has practically disappeared, senior citizens are being thrown out of nursing homes, and the men and women of Ohio that have been the foundation of the workforce in the state, are losing workers' rights.
Vote NO on Issue 2.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Dr. King
* There will be a special occasion this week in Washington, DC, when the statue honoring the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be dedicated. President Obama will be participating in the ceremony. For more information about the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial, visit the website: http://www.mlkmemorial.org/ for location, events, etc.
* We now have more information on what John Boehner will be working on in the next few months.
DailyKos:
Republicans are ready to fight to stop job creation, Ezra Klein learns when he asks Speaker John Boehner's office about efforts to create a jobs super committee....
.....Klein then says, "Whether it wins enough Republican support to become part of the supercommittee’s work remains a pretty big unknown." Which isn't the larger point Larson and Congressional Democrats are making, which is to "call [Republicans'] bluff" on job creation and put them in the position of refusing to act on the issue that voters overwhelmingly say is most important to them.
Boehner's spokesman couldn't have made it any clearer. The Republicans will fight against putting people back to work. The Democrats' job is to make them have that fight.
That should confirm it. The Republicans are not going to help you get back to work.
---> If you have the chance to see the movie, The Help, jump at it. It shows you how women overcame obstacles in the south during the Civil Right Movement.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Too little, too late
> Once again, Gov. John "Lehman Brothers" Kasich got involved in a little drama. Today, according to the SacramentoBee, Kasich and Republican leaders sat at a table. Union leaders refused to meet with Kasich because Kasich wanted to negotiate a removal of Issue 2 from November's ballot.
Funny thing is, this is the most attention that Kasich and the Ohio Republicans have paid to unionized Ohioans. When hearings were going on for SB 5, a bill to end collective bargaining in Ohio, Democrats were not allowed to offer amendments, and Republicans locked out Ohio's working men and women from entering the Statehouse. Despite the fact that thousands of Ohioans asked to meet with the Kasich administration and Republican leaders before the bill was passed, the workers were ignored. Now Kasich wants to talk????? Kasich's actions are too little and too late.
* I bet you are really excited to learn that some top dog at Bank of America said the following to Rick Perry: "Bank of America, we will help you out." The story and video from CSPAN are at Raw Story.
http://video.aol.com/aolvideo/aol-video/bofa-rick-perry/1118617457001
Rick Perry is completely nuts and he knows nothing about economics (look up his college transcript for his economics grade). The last thing this country needs is a person who dismisses science and is from Texas. We survived the last President from Texas!
**** The Republicans have gone crazy over President Obama's vacation. Pleeeeeaaaaaaaaase! Let the guy take a few days off with his family. He got Osama bin laden!
No matter what President Obama does, he won't catch up to President George W. Bush's time on vacation. According to CBS News, George W. Bush spent a lot of time out of the White House. CBS News reported that Bush spent 487 days at Camp David and 490 days at his Texas ranch: 487 + 490 = 977
George W. Bush was President for 8 years (8 x 365 = 2,920 days).
977/ 2,930 = 33%
President George W. Bush spent 33% of his time in office on vacation.
CBS has a new article with information on how much time President Obama has spent on vacation:
.....President Obama has taken 61 vacation days after 31 months in office. At this point in their presidencies, George W. Bush had spent 180 days at his ranch where his staff often joined him for meetings. And Ronald Reagan had taken 112 vacation days at his ranch.
Among recent presidents, Bill Clinton took the least time off -- 28 days.
To be fair, a presidential vacation away from the White House is not the same as a vacation for the average person. The president is still in contact with his advisers and on call for any emergency.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Costing $387.65/Day
Ohio Gov. John Kasich developed some very rich tastes while he worked on Wall Street. Now, as governor, having a state-owned plane at his disposal is just too much fun for him. Unfortunately, while Kasich has asked the middle class workers to sacrifice, seniors are being thrown out of nursing homes, schools have had huge budget cuts, funds for libraries have been cut, etc., it is apparent that Kasich is living in the lap of luxury with his high flying habits.
TheOtherPaper:
....With 43 flights logged thus far in his fledgling administration, apparently this is a risk the Kasich administration is willing to take.
The governor has taken some heat in recent months for his affinity for flying the $400-an-hour state plane all over Ohio about as often as he can, or at least a couple times a week, according to flight records.....
....Astute members of the Dayton Daily News staff crunched numbers to report that Kasich's aerial jaunts are costing Ohioans more than five times what Strickland accrued. The Daily News assessed the high cost of gubernatorial flying on a daily rate, and found that state taxpayers are spending $387.65 a day for Kasich's state-plane use compared with $201.75 for Taft and $77.58 for Strickland......
This is just another example of the Kasich mantra, "Do as I say, not as I do."
Dayton?
Everyone is talking about Ohio Gov. John Kasich's attempt at trying to make a compromise on Issue 2, the referendum that would repeal the collective bargaining act passed by the Republican controlled state legislature and signed into law by the governor. Even though John Kasich refused to meet with teachers before SB 5 was passed, now Kasich wants to "negotiate" certain aspects of the bill. Even though Kasich was instrumental in locking out middle class workers during the hearings on SB 5, now Kasich wants to "negotiate" certain aspects of the bill. Even though Kasich called a police officer an "idiot" for enforcing the law and he characterized teachers as greedy, now he wants them to negotiate. The sad thing is that Kasich and the Ohio GOP did lots of backslapping and congratulating each other after SB 5 passed, and they refused to listen to those people that would be hurt by SB 5.
Today, Kasich wants to compromise and have Issue 2 removed from November's ballot.
_____________
It is good to see that other people have noticed that John Kasich, JobsOhio, and Mark Kvamme have been concentrating their job creation efforts in the Dayton area only.
WDTN:
....This morning a meeting at Sinclair Community College brought together government and the business community.
Earlier this year Governor John Kasich created a semiprivate JobsOhio Corporation but it needs to figure out its role so meetings are being held throughout the state.
The one at Sinclair brought together JobsOhio leaders and the Dayton Development Coalition.....
Kasich and his staff have been to Sinclair College so many times, they should get a parking pass for their frequent visits. Why does Kasich continue to visit only the Dayton area for talks with business leaders? Is he afraid to go to Cleveland, Toledo, Youngstown, and even in Columbus to talk with random business leaders? Why do this "meetings with business leaders" only have only "invited" guests? Is he unwilling to meet with people that do not support his agenda?
Dayton has been a big Republican stronghold. Of course, if the people of Dayton woke up and looked around them, they'd notice that the only people making money are Republican elected officials. The people keep electing Republicans, but Dayton continues to lose jobs, companies, and the infrastructure is crumbling. Wake up, Dayton!
Republicans elected to both state and federal offices have done nothing, especially in the Dayton area. Sure, they protect the area near Wright Patterson, but other places nearby are not getting the attention, the repairs, and the work that they should. Republicans want to continue to cut services, but our infrastructure is crumbling.
According to Transportation for America, the Dayton area has a large number of structurally deficient bridges, including: (Note: These are just a few of the crumbling bridges in the area. Visit the Transportation for America website for more.)
E HELENA STREET
- Crosses ISLAND PARK LAGOON GMR 1
- in Montgomery County
Structurally deficient 
- Built 1941
- National bridge ID 5760496
- 16,073 cars per day (avg.)
Ratings
- Deck: N
- Superstructure: N
- Substructure: N
Inspections
- Inspection frequency: 12 months
- Last inspection: August-2005
--------
NB IR75
- Crosses RMP=I75*S-(S4*N&2SR STS)
- in Montgomery County
Structurally deficient
- Built 1959
- National bridge ID 5708435
- 54,355 cars per day (avg.)
Ratings
- Deck: 4
- Superstructure: 6
- Substructure: 5
Inspections
- Inspection frequency: 12 months
- Last inspection: August-2009
---------------------------
IR-75
- Crosses US35
- in Montgomery County
Structurally deficient
- Built 1967
- National bridge ID 5707536
- 138,690 cars per day (avg.)
Ratings
- Deck: 6
- Superstructure: 6
- Substructure: 4
Inspections
- Inspection frequency: 12 months
- Last inspection: September-2009
---------
E DOROTHY LANE
- Crosses DOR LN S BR LTT BEAVER C
- in Montgomery County
Structurally deficient
- Built 1963
- National bridge ID 5763266
- 26,000 cars per day (avg.)
Ratings
- Deck: 5
- Superstructure: 4
- Substructure: 4
Inspections
- Inspection frequency: 12 months
- Last inspection: June-2009
While Republicans refuse to write bills or vote for job creation legislation, our families are in danger every single time we cross these and other deteriorating bridges.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Have you heard.....
Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, Josh Mandel, is still more than 90 days late in filing his financial disclosure, as required by law.
* A new Public Policy Poll shows that U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (OH-Dem) has a substantial lead over all of the declared and undeclared Republican challengers.
* NJ Gov. Chris Christie is showing little respect for women, especially rape victims.
RHrealitycheck:
In March, the New Jersey State Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill to prevent sexual assault survivors from being charged for the rape kits used to collect forensic evidence. The Assembly passed the measure in June. Months later, however, the bill remains “under review” on Governor Chris Christie’s desk prompting many advocates to ask what is taking him so long and some to start a petition demanding he take action.
Under federal law, health care providers must be reimbursed for the cost of these exams and the collection of evidence. They are supposed to look to government agencies for that coverage but bills are often sent to the assault survivor "due to administrative errors or attempts to get payment from a victim's insurance company.”
.....Though it’s clear from his record (which includes “using a line-item veto to block funding in the state budget for clinics that provide family-planning services”) that woman’s rights and reproductive health are not a high priority for the Governor, it really is hard to understand why he’s dragging his feet on this bill.
Chris Christie is nothing but a bully.
**** Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the Republican governor who called a police officer an idiot while giving a speech in front of several hundred state employees, is now begging public employees (teachers, nurses, firefighters, police officers, state employees) to negotiate with him and pull Issue 2 off the ballot. I'm hoping that no one will negotiate with him. He disrespected all of us and has attempted to take away civil rights from working people in the state. All at once, he wants to negotiate????
Vote NO on Issue 2.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Where is Josh Mandel's required financial disclosure?
*** I think that the NYTimes went overboard with their description of the neighborhood where Republican Rep. Darrel Issa grew up and attended school:
...Mr. Issa, who grew up in a hardscrabble neighborhood near Cleveland....
Someone who lived in the same neighborhood as Mr. Issa laughed when he read that line in the NYTimes article. He said that where they lived would not be called "hardscrabble" by any stretch of the imagination.
_______
>>>> What is up with Republican Josh Mandel? Why hasn't he filed his financial disclosure? People are starting to talk about his lack of effort on meeting the deadline. Even the Dispatch has questioned why his financial report, which was due by May 15th, hasn't been disclosed.
* * *
(posted at YouTube)
Seriously?
* Rick Perry's comments about Social Security scare me. We have another extreme right wing Republican tea partier that wants to get rid of Social Security and Medicare.
ThinkProgress:
Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) has, to say the least, a very odd understanding of the Constitution. He thinks Texas should be able to opt out of Social Security, and he believes that everything from federal public school programs to clean air laws are unconstitutional. Yet in an interview with the Daily Beast’s Andrew Romano, Perry makes his most outlandish claim to date — Social Security and Medicare are unconstitutional:
The Constitution says that “the Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes… to provide for the… general Welfare of the United States.” But I noticed that when you quoted this section on page 116, you left “general welfare” out and put an ellipsis in its place. Progressives would say that “general welfare” includes things like Social Security or Medicare—that it gives the government the flexibility to tackle more than just the basic responsibilities laid out explicitly in our founding document. What does “general welfare” mean to you?
[PERRY:] I don’t think our founding fathers when they were putting the term “general welfare” in there were thinking about a federally operated program of pensions nor a federally operated program of health care. What they clearly said was that those were issues that the states need to address. Not the federal government. I stand very clear on that. From my perspective, the states could substantially better operate those programs if that’s what those states decided to do......
Time Magazine has this:
.....Last week, the Daily Beast released the transcript of an interview with Perry from last fall. He was asked about his assertion in a book he had written that Social Security is a "failure" that "we have been forced to accept for more than 70 years." Perry called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme" and pressed for a "legitimate conversation about let[ting] the states keep their money and implement" their own version of it.....
....Social Security critics do not like to talk about the fact that the Supreme Court definitively put the question to rest in 1937. After Congress adopted the Social Security Act at President Franklin Roosevelt's urging, it was challenged on constitutional grounds. In Helvering v. Davis, the Supreme Court upheld the act by a 7-2 vote. Justice Benjamin Cardozo, writing for the majority, said the Taxing and Spending Clause authorized Congress to levy taxes and spend money to advance the "general welfare" and that Congress was within its right to find "that the award of old age benefits would be conducive to the general welfare."
>>> Today, we mourn the passing of former member of the House of Representatives, Robert Shamansky. He represented part of Columbus during his one term in Congress. See the Dayton Daily News for information.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Corporate Greed
* This kind of business behavior sounds just plain wrong.
Citizens for Tax Justice:
On Sunday, 45,000 Verizon employees went on strike to protest the company’s push for employees to give back $1 billion in health, pension, and other contract concessions. What makes these demands particularly galling is that Verizon is both highly profitable and already a model of poor corporate citizenship.
Despite earning over $32.5 billion over the last 3 years, Verizon not only paid nothing in corporate income taxes, it actually received nearly $1 billion (the same amount as the concessions they are seeking) in tax benefits from the federal government during that time....
.....The Communication Workers of America (CWA), who is leading the strike along with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), also notes that while calling for a benefit cut from workers, the top 5 executives at Verizon received more than a quarter of a billion dollars in compensation over the last 4 years.....
Corporate greed makes me sick.
Not My Cup of Tea or Coffee
* Don't let the Rick Perry for President campaign make you start believing all that hogwash coming from their candidate and spokespeople. Rick Perry is governor of Texas, but he won the election with only 39% of the vote. He wasn't popular at election time and his disapproval rate in Texas is over 50%.
Perry said that Texas could secede from the United States (he is wrong). Here is some background from the Huffington Post (4/15/09):
....Perry called his supporters patriots. Later, answering news reporters' questions, Perry suggested Texans might at some point get so fed up they would want to secede from the union, though he said he sees no reason why Texas should do that.
"There's a lot of different scenarios," Perry said. "We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we're a pretty independent lot to boot."
He said when Texas entered the union in 1845 it was with the understanding it could pull out. However, according to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, Texas negotiated the power to divide into four additional states at some point if it wanted to but not the right to secede....
As it says at Snopes on the right of Texas to secede "....no such provision."
Perry has some ties with some extreme right wing religious fanatics. Amy Goodman's article at Alternet has the background:
.....The Texas Observer has just published an explosive new article titled "Rick Perry’s Army of God." It exposes how a group of radical Christians and self-proclaimed prophets from a little-known movement known as New Apostolic Reformation have been quietly pushing for Perry to run for president. The author of the article, Forrest Wilder, is a staff reporter at the Texas Observer.....
Here is an excerpt from the article from the Texas Observer that was written by Forrest Wilder:
...Moreover, various media outlets have documented a possible coalescing of religious-right leaders around Perry’s candidacy. Time magazine reported on a June conference call among major evangelical leaders, including religious historian David Barton and San Antonio pastor John Hagee, in which they “agreed that Rick Perry would be their preferred candidate if he entered the race,” according to the magazine....
....In 2008 GOP nominee John McCain was forced to reject Hagee’s endorsement after media scrutiny of the pastor’s anti-Catholic comments....
Rick Perry will definitely anger the largest religious group in the U.S.A., the Catholics, by associating with anti-Catholic groups/preachers.
Perry said that Texas could secede from the United States (he is wrong). Here is some background from the Huffington Post (4/15/09):
....Perry called his supporters patriots. Later, answering news reporters' questions, Perry suggested Texans might at some point get so fed up they would want to secede from the union, though he said he sees no reason why Texas should do that.
"There's a lot of different scenarios," Perry said. "We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we're a pretty independent lot to boot."
He said when Texas entered the union in 1845 it was with the understanding it could pull out. However, according to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, Texas negotiated the power to divide into four additional states at some point if it wanted to but not the right to secede....
As it says at Snopes on the right of Texas to secede "....no such provision."
Perry has some ties with some extreme right wing religious fanatics. Amy Goodman's article at Alternet has the background:
.....The Texas Observer has just published an explosive new article titled "Rick Perry’s Army of God." It exposes how a group of radical Christians and self-proclaimed prophets from a little-known movement known as New Apostolic Reformation have been quietly pushing for Perry to run for president. The author of the article, Forrest Wilder, is a staff reporter at the Texas Observer.....
Here is an excerpt from the article from the Texas Observer that was written by Forrest Wilder:
...Moreover, various media outlets have documented a possible coalescing of religious-right leaders around Perry’s candidacy. Time magazine reported on a June conference call among major evangelical leaders, including religious historian David Barton and San Antonio pastor John Hagee, in which they “agreed that Rick Perry would be their preferred candidate if he entered the race,” according to the magazine....
....In 2008 GOP nominee John McCain was forced to reject Hagee’s endorsement after media scrutiny of the pastor’s anti-Catholic comments....
Rick Perry will definitely anger the largest religious group in the U.S.A., the Catholics, by associating with anti-Catholic groups/preachers.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Exactly!
This video from ProgressOhio says it all:
YouTube
(h/t Ohiodailyblog.com)
YouTube
(h/t Ohiodailyblog.com)
Vote No on Issue 2.
Vote No on Issue 2.
Vote No on Issue 2.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Pay Attention!
* There are many things I'd rather do than watch a bunch of pompous, corporate-defending, Republicans engage in a "debate" from Iowa. I did not watch one minute of the drivel.
* An interesting little drama is going on with an Ohio Republican. Instead of trying to hide because of the fact that his face has been plastered all over the media, an Ohio Republican has sought to bring some additional attention to his behavior.
DaytonDailyNews:
State Rep. Jarrod Martin, R-Beavercreek, pleaded not guilty Thursday to a child endangerment charge in Jackson County Municipal Court.
Martin, 32, also is pleading not guilty to a drunken driving charge. The charges stem from a July 22 traffic stop on U.S. 35 in Jackson County. State troopers say Martin’s Dodge Ram truck drifted left of center and his trailer didn’t have taillights.
During the traffic stop, Martin refused to take field sobriety tests, which means his driver’s license is automatically suspended for a year. Attorney Charlie Rowland said he would ask the court later this month to grant driving privileges to Martin to allow him to get to and from work......
Jarrod Martin has a right to go to court, but you'd think that in an effort to not embarrass his family and constituents any further that he'd just deal with what happened.
>>>> A news story in the Boston Herald is giving more substance to the rumor of a possible run for the U.S. by Elizabeth Warren. Warren, who had been nominated by President Obama to head the new consumer bureau, is an intelligent, thoughtful, incredible person. That explains why the Republicans refused to approve her nomination. White, pompous, Republican males fear intelligent, clear-thinking, progressive, Democratic women. To these Republicans, smart Democratic women are like kryptonite.
Do you need an example? From Thinkexist.com, we have this from college drop out, anti-environmental, anti-women's rights, anti-diversity, hatemonger, Rush Limbaugh:
“Feminism was established to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream.”
Those looking to Limbaugh and the Republicans for moral leadership, ideas, progress, and legislation that protects everyone (not just corporations), should look elsewhere.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Special Title
* Citybeat in Cincinnati has given a special title to Gov. John Kasich, Republican of Ohio:
[LOSER]
JOHN KASICH: Hypocrisy, thy name is Kasich. Even though Ohio’s new governor ran campaign commercials last year attacking then-Gov. Ted Strickland’s use of state-owned airplanes for travel, Kasich already has used such planes more in just 81 days as Strickland did during his entire first year in office. A Dayton Daily News analysis of state records shows Kasich used the planes for purposes like flying to Cincinnati to announce a staff appointment, and flying to Toledo, Akron and Youngstown to speak to chambers of commerce. In his first 81 days in office, the Republican governor used the planes for 16 in-state trips and four out-of-state trips at a total cost of $31,400. By comparison, former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland spent $31,849 on plane travel during his first 13 months in office. The paper reported that, on a daily rate, Ohio is spending $387.65 for Kasich’s state-plane use. Looks like it’s hard for Kasich to give up his free-spending Wall Street ways.Nice touch! Of course, this is just another reason that explains why Kasich's approval rating is in the toilet.
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Mandel: Not Ready For Prime Time
* Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, an extreme right wing Republican, has all but announced his intention to run for U.S. Senate against U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown. Mandel, who still hasn't learned about this present job, is already gathering boatloads of money from far right Tea Party Republicans. Mandel appears to be a puppet of those who wish to end Social Security and Medicare. In a piece in the Plain Dealer, Mandel expressed his opinion that the debt deal should not have happened. He seemed unable to understand why raising the debt ceiling was necessary. If the deal had not been worked out, those people receiving Social Security and Medicare would not have received their checks, and our troops would not have received their paychecks. Somehow, I don't think Mandel quite "gets it."
**** Oh, goody! (Not.) Gov. John Kasich is looking to pay some big money to some consultants to help him get rid of the Ohio Turnpike. Gee. I wonder which politically connected "consultants" will get the job???? The last time Kasich hired consultants they got $15 million.
OhioBudgetWatch:
....Casinos the voters already approved and that were all set to begin construction until the Governor opened his mouth and started questioning whether we could get more money from them.
The consultant fees — a percentage of the state’s revenues from casinos — of up to $15 million are to come from the Lottery Commission’s budget. The Lottery, whose profits are constitutionally required to be spent on education. It’s funny, because I had been wondering why the amount of profits the Lottery promises to deliver to the state are projected to decline in the next budget, after year upon year of increasing profits. They claimed in their budget testimony it was because of competition from casinos. But, now, according to the Dispatch story, it looks more like it’s due to payments to casino consultants.
Proceeds from the sale of lottery games are supposed to go to education. The Lottery can deduct its own expenses they incur from the sale of Lottery tickets, but I fail to see how spending money on consultants to tell the Governor how to raise more tax money from casinos is remotely allowable. Not sure? Here’s what the Ohio Constitution has to say (§ 15.06(A).....
Read the rest of the article at OhioBudgetWatch.
Monday, August 08, 2011
Keeping An Eye On Them
* Gov. Rick Perry's "prayer meeting" has drawn a lot questions. The NJ Ledger has an article, Rick Perry Just Wrote Off the Catholic Vote, that describes some of the anti-Catholic beliefs that some of his speakers hold.
* There has been a lot of talk about far right extremist, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, running for U.S. Senate for Ohio. His name is being thrown around by Republican Ken Blackwell. However, Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, has already endorsed Josh Mandel, according to The Hill. Mandel, currently Ohio Treasurer, was in office less than a few weeks before he realized he did not the job and started raising money to run for the Senate. Mandel, who has been a big supporter of SB 5 and Paul Ryan's budget plan, has some big right wing money supporting his candidacy.
* The city of Lancaster, Ohio, will probably need to lay off employees.
Lancaster Eagle Gazette:
More than 30 city employees could receive layoff notices next month as Lancaster cuts costs and looks to the November ballot to fill future budget gaps....
.....On Monday, city council voted 8-0 to put on the November ballot a five-year, .25 percent income tax increase for the general fund and a 10-year, 2.9-mill property tax increase to pay for street improvements. John Zekas, R-2nd Ward, was not present Monday night.....
.....Layoffs could include 20 firefighters and six police officers, Smith said. A police clerk, prosecutor, tax clerk, municipal court office assistant and deputy clerk of court also will be laid off.....
While Republican Gov. John Kasich hands out millions of dollars of your money to his corporate buddies to move across town (Bob Evans) and add only 50 jobs (Wendy's), Ohio's first responders are losing their jobs.
* A news story today on WBNS 10tv showed Republican Rep. Steve Stivers flipping burgers at White Castle today. I'm not sure exactly what his point was. Was he promoting minimum wage jobs, or one of his donors? According to OpenSecrets, those associated with White Castle have contributed $7,850 to the Stivers campaign.
Where are the jobs Stivers was going to bring back to Ohio's 15th congressional district?
Sunday, August 07, 2011
Tea Party Republicans Still Want to End Your Medicare
The Tea Party Republicans have not given up on their goal to eliminate your Medicare.
ChristianScienceMonitor:
....Thousands of Tea Party movement activists are expected to descend this month on town hall meetings across key battleground states as part of an intensifying campaign ahead of the 2012 presidential and congressional elections.....
.....But FreedomWorks, which helped found and shape the Tea Party movement, sees its campaign as the opening salvo in a long battle to secure a place for the Ryan plan in the 2012 debate and the legislative session that will begin in January 2013.
The gambit poses risks for Republicans in swing states including Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio, which FreedomWorks is targeting...
Of course, when people vote for members of the House and Senate in 2012, those people who support the platform of the Tea Party, will continue their plan to destroy Medicare. Only Republicans are members of the Tea Party. Here in Ohio's 15th congressional district, Steve Stivers, was promoted and endorsed by the TPR (Tea Party Republicans).
ChristianScienceMonitor:
....Thousands of Tea Party movement activists are expected to descend this month on town hall meetings across key battleground states as part of an intensifying campaign ahead of the 2012 presidential and congressional elections.....
.....But FreedomWorks, which helped found and shape the Tea Party movement, sees its campaign as the opening salvo in a long battle to secure a place for the Ryan plan in the 2012 debate and the legislative session that will begin in January 2013.
The gambit poses risks for Republicans in swing states including Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio, which FreedomWorks is targeting...
Of course, when people vote for members of the House and Senate in 2012, those people who support the platform of the Tea Party, will continue their plan to destroy Medicare. Only Republicans are members of the Tea Party. Here in Ohio's 15th congressional district, Steve Stivers, was promoted and endorsed by the TPR (Tea Party Republicans).
Friday, August 05, 2011
Charter School Company Told to Open the Books
*** Did you know that charter school conglomerate, White Hat Management, had refused to open their books and accounting to state officials? A judge has ruled that the state and the public has the right to know what happens to our tax dollars.
ConnecticutPost:
* Just in case you haven't heard, ballot Issue #2 (the SB 5/Kasich-Republican, anti-teacher, anti-fire fighter, anti-police officer, anti-nurse, anti-public worker, legislation) will be on the ballot for November's election in Ohio.
The last thing we need is a bigger power grab from Kasich and the GOP.
ConnecticutPost:
A judge in Ohio has ruled that a private management company that operates a group of publicly funded charter schools must turn over financial records requested by the schools' governing boards.
The Wednesday ruling in Columbus comes in a lawsuit in which the boards of Hope Academies and Life Skills Centers in Cleveland and Akron asked to break their contracts with Akron-based White Hat Management LLC.......
.......Among records the boards seek are those related to school operations as well as money spent on lobbying for the 2007 law. The judge says White Hat must only turn over records related to the use of public funds.
* Just in case you haven't heard, ballot Issue #2 (the SB 5/Kasich-Republican, anti-teacher, anti-fire fighter, anti-police officer, anti-nurse, anti-public worker, legislation) will be on the ballot for November's election in Ohio.
Vote NO on Issue 2.
The last thing we need is a bigger power grab from Kasich and the GOP.
______________
> Gov. Kasich is, according to a quote I read somewhere on the web, using state-owned planes as "his personal taxicabs." Ohioans were already disgusted with Kasich's arrogance and lack of engagement with real people, and this has just put people over the top. While he cuts funding for the elderly and public schools, Kasich is flying all over the state and to D.C. on our tax money.
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