Beware of the Romney Tax Plan

Willard Mitt Romney is promising major tax cuts across the board, if he is elected President.  Think about it.  Isn't that how we have a deficit today----because of the Bush tax cuts?

Here are a few opinions on the Romney tax plan:

Businessweek:

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s tax proposal would add $600 billion to the U.S. budget deficit in 2015, according to a study released today by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center in Washington....

....The Tax Policy Center’s study doesn’t take into account a $1.2 trillion reduction in spending scheduled to take effect in 2013. Those savings won’t prevent Romney’s proposal from increasing the deficit, Williams said. He said the $600 billion revenue reduction under Romney’s proposal would happen in 2015 while the $1.2 trillion spending cut will be spread out over a decade.

“This goes in the wrong direction,” Williams said. “It still worsens the deficit situation.”

Those Republicans who complain about the deficit probably haven't taken a good look at Romney's tax plan.

Here is another view.

Reuters:

(Romney)....would also raise taxes on poor families with children at home and those going to college. Romney does this by reducing benefits from the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit and by ending the American Opportunity tax credit for college education.

Without these tax breaks, the poorest fifth of taxpayers would pay $157 more in taxes in 2015 than under current policy, the Tax Policy Center says in its analysis of Romney’s plan. The second poorest group would pay $82 more, according to the center, whose past work has been praised by Republicans and Democrats alike.

While Romney would make these two groups — the poorest 125 million Americans — pay higher taxes, the top 60 percent all would get tax cuts. The top tenth of one percent would save, on average, $464,000 a year, the Tax Policy Center’s analysis says....

Romney's plan helps the top 1% ----those that are like himself. As Romney said, "I'm not concerned about the very poor...." His tax plan proves it.

Signs?

* People are in shock following the shootings at Chardon High School, in Ohio.  Two students have died.  The atmosphere in schools today is not even close to what it was in the '50's, '60's, and '70's.  Despite the special training that teachers and students receive, violence still happens in our schools. The only way to stop violence at school is to keep up our vigilance. Students and teachers need to talk to each other.  Parents need to talk with their children.  Keep those lines of communication open.

It doesn't help that Gov. John Kasich's solutions to problems tend to be all show and no action.  Plunderbund:

John Kasich gave a speech at the Highway Patrol Academy announcing a couple of law enforcement initiatives.  The Dispatch obliged with a positive headline:  “State takes aim at drug trafficking.”

According to a longer article in the Dispatch, Kasich is pushing two new law enforcement initiatives:  (1) a new law making it a felony to own a vehicle with concealed compartments; and (2) “severe warning signs” on highways to deter drug dealers.....

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  Warning signs as a deterrent?  Really.  When Kasich's budget cut funding to local cities, counties, and schools, firefighters, police, and teachers lost jobs.  Providing funding for the communities and schools would lower crime, and signs will not.

>>>>   What signs has Josh Mandel used to show citizens he hates his job?   Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel continues to spend his time and energy working on his campaign for Senate, even while seeming to be avoiding his day job as Treasurer  With his 14 missed meetings of the Ohio Board of Deposit, citizens are worried that the state monies are not being guarded.  Mandel's lackadaisical attitude about the duties of his job are making lots of citizens worried.

To add more to Mandel's lack of focus, we have evidence that Mandel will be out of state next week and in NYC:

Upcoming events:
Maverick PAC 

Maverick PAC New York

• Breakfast with Josh Mandel

• Monday/
• March 5th/
• 7:30 AM

• Details & RSVP

Does Mandel go to work on Mondays???? I'm just asking!

Republicans Ruining Ohio

Example No. 752:  Ohio Republicans are doing nothing to protect women but continue their war against women.

State Sen. Kris Jordan, the man at the center of his wife's 911 call she made to report domestic violence, now is going after Planned Parenthood.

Here is a reminder about Kris Jordan from the (7/20/1011) Dispatch:

The wife of state Sen. Kris Jordan called 911 after a domestic-violence incident at their home near Powell last week.

Delaware County Recorder Melissa Jordan, 31, called 911 just before 11p.m. on July 11, at first hanging up after reaching a dispatcher. When the dispatcher called back, Mrs. Jordan said breathlessly, "Just, please, get somebody here. ... My husband, please...."

....Mrs. Jordan told the dispatcher that there were guns in the home and that one had been taken from its usual spot but was in a separate room....

The good people over at Plunderbund have quite a lot about Kris Jordan, including his lies about the purpose of the bill (see Plunderbund for all the details):

....After being called to his house in response to a frantic and distressful 911 call in which Jordan’s wife fears for her life and reveals Kris was pushing her around and threatening her with a gun, Jordan told police nothing had really happened and his wife just “got a little upset. Girls do that.”

.....Kris Jordan voted against Domestic Violence legislation. Kris Jordan was the ONLY legislator in Ohio to vote against The Jessica Logan Act, HB 155, a bill designed to protect kids from bullying and named after a young girl who took her own life in response to cyber bullying. And Kris Jordan is now sponsoring a bill with the sole purpose of defunding one of the largest providers of health care for low- to moderate-income women in Ohio.

It’s important to note that less than 3% of the funding Planned Parenthood receives goes to abortion services. And NONE of the money it receives from the state can legally be used for abortion services.....

If Kris Jordan and his other Republican legislators have their way, women in Ohio that cannot afford pap smears, physical exams, screenings, etc., will just go without. Do you think that will make a bully like Republican State Sen. Kris Jordan happy?


Here are some contact numbers/email for Kris Jordan:  
    Phone: (614) 466-8086      Email: SD19@senate.state.oh.us
You can let him know how you feel about his latest attack on women.

How many Cadillacs do you have?

*** In a speech given at the stadium used by the Detroit Lions, Republican candidate for President, Mitt Romney spoke before a small, meager, nearly microscopic crowd.

Think Progress reported "....Romney’s 1,200 person crowd in the 65,000-seat stadium..." was a disaster. As if the small crowd wasn't enough, Mitt Romney made a huge gaffe.

Washington Post:

Addressing the Detroit Economic Club Friday afternoon, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R) reprised his familiar line that “the trees are the right height” and “the streets are just right” in his home state.

But he also made another statement that could draw him some unwanted attention: he told the crowd that his wife, Ann Romney, drives “a couple of Cadillacs.”

If you needed another example of how out of touch and a lack of a message, you have it here. How many times can you talk about trees?  With the number of people out of work, Romney has to bring up "a couple of Cadillacs." Add the Cadillacs to his $10,000 bet with Rick Perry, and you have a guy clearly out of touch with the country.

My husband and I have never owned a Cadillac in our almost 38 years of marriage.  As a voter, I find it very difficult to relate to anything that Romney talks about or has addressed in any public statements.

Something that candidate Barack Obama said in 2008 made me realize that he understood what both my husband and I had been through.  In an interview with MTV, Barack Obama revealed that both he and Michelle had taken out student loans for college, and then paid them back.  My husband and I both had student loans which we successfully paid off.  It wasn't easy, but we did it. Obama understands what students and parents face when they have to borrow and then pay back those huge sums of money. 

Mitt Romney just doesn't seem to "get it" about average working families, women, college students, cars, autoworkers, the poor, the unemployed, or anyone else. 

Hot Topic Now?

Sen. Marco Rubio Republican of Florida is supposedly another hot prospect for a GOP vice president pick.  Rubio's politics is far to the right.

There are some new developments about Republican Rubio from  ABC News:

....The young tea party hero most likely on Mitt Romney’s short list of potential running mates was baptized into the Mormon church when he was 8 and “remained active in the faith for a number of years,” attending LDS youth groups and walking to church most Sundays because his mother didn’t drive, the Internet meme and news site BuzzFeed reports.

Rubio left Mormonism to become a Catholic “a few years later,” and he got his first Communion when he was 13, in 1984, the Florida senator’s spokesman told the website....

....BuzzFeed says that its questions to Rubio’s aides about his religion “appear to have sent them into frantic damage-control mode.” The Miami Herald published a blog mentioning Rubio’s Mormon roots just before Rubio’s spokesman called the website to confirm the story. The spokesman said Rubio plans to write about his Mormon faith in a book.

However, an article from the New York Times (Nov. 26, 2010) has something a little different:

Marco Rubio, the charismatic senator-elect from Florida, is in many ways similar to other Cuban-American politicians from his home state: conservative, Republican and a “practicing and devout Roman Catholic,” in the words of his spokesman, one who “regularly attends Catholic Mass” and “was baptized, confirmed and married in the Roman Catholic Church.” 

But while Mr. Rubio, 39, presented himself on his Florida Statehouse Web site and in interviews as a Roman Catholic, bloggers and journalists have noted since his election that he regularly worships at an evangelical megachurch whose theology is plainly at odds with Catholic teaching. 

For much of the last decade, Mr. Rubio has attended Christ Fellowship with his wife and children. He “comes very regularly to worship service” at the church’s Palmetto Bay campus, said Eric Geiger, the executive pastor. According to Mr. Rubio’s campaign Web site, he contributed almost $50,000 to Christ Fellowship from 2005 to 2008.....

Jumping from Mormonism to Catholicism to Christ Fellowship Church is a little strange.  Does he participate in communion in the Fellowship Church?  Catholic Church leaders would frown on that (see answer 2 @CatholicDoors).

Sen. Marco Rubio introduced a bill that might make most working woman think twice about voting for him.

TPM:

Legislation introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) to reverse the Obama administration’s birth control rule would effectively permit any employer to deny contraception coverage in their employee health plans, critics note.

“Any employer could deny birth control coverage under Rubio’s bill and all the employer would have to do is say it’s for a religious reason,” said Jessica Arons, Director of the Women’s Health and Rights Program at the liberal Center for American Progress. “There is no test to prove eligibility. It’s a loophole you could drive a truck through.”

The Rubio bill, The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, comes in response to a Catholic firestorm over the fact that the administration’s exemption on its birth control rule does not include religious hospitals and universities along with churches. But this bill appears to go far beyond that, permitting any employer to claim the religious exemption without a criteria.....

I guess it doesn't matter to Republican bozos that 99% of all American women have used birth control at one time, and 98% of Catholic women have used birth control. 


Would Romney pick Rubio as a running mate? We should just let the GOP battle it out.

Virginia on My Mind

I can't stand looking at the Republican candidates. They make me ill.

* Virginia has changed the abortion bill they had written from an invasive trans-vaginal ultrasound to a non-invasive ultrasound.  Either way, the Republican dominated legislature in Virginia is still trying to humiliate women. Gov. Bob McDonnell, who has been actively campaigning for a role as a Republican vice presidential candidate, probably got his panties knotted up because of the voices of outrage he heard from across the country. 

>>>>  Some students have a petition drive started to take back the invitation for Gov. McDonnell to speak at their graduation ceremonies.
DailyPress:

Christopher Newport University's announcement Wednesday that Gov. Bob McDonnell is this year's graduation speaker sparked petitions to disinvite him within hours of the news.

Student-led petitions were launched on Facebook and on Change.org, both titled "Christopher Newport University: Prevent Gov. Bob McDonnell from speaking at Commencement." Graduation is May 12.....

*** The Ohio GOP feud continues, and this time contributors to the party are getting involved.
Dispatch:

The intraparty feud splitting Ohio Republicans between those loyal to party Chairman Kevin DeWine and those backing Gov. John Kasich might have another prominent player: Secretary of State Jon Husted.

Husted, who is close to DeWine but has avoided criticizing Kasich in the fight for control of the party, participated in a “confidential” meeting called by a Dayton-area Republican donor on Feb. 7 — the same day as Kasich’s State of the State address in Steubenville.

Richard Chernesky, the attorney and Republican donor who called the meeting in Dayton, said in an email to “Eagles Forum” participants that their “support and contributions in the past to Jon Husted and Kevin DeWine helped them to achieve the offices they now hold and to position them for greater service in the future.” 

Although Husted might not mention his political plans for higher office, rumors have him hoping to get the job as governor in the future.

GOP VP Picks???

There seems to be lots of questions about the possible Republican vice president nominees.
Some names on a short list include Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, and Gov. Chris Christie of Jersey. 

McDonnell and his Republican Party of Virginia are promoting a forced trans-vaginal ultrasound procedure for women who want abortions. This procedure forced upon a woman would be tantamount to rape.   McDonnell has promoted the Confederacy, is against gay couples adopting children, wrote in his college thesis in which "...he described working women and feminists as "detrimental" to the family. He said government policy should favor married couples over "cohabitators, homosexuals or fornicators." He described as "illogical" a 1972 Supreme Court decision legalizing the use of contraception by unmarried couples....." (see Washington Post).

Rubio has several problems.  He claims to be a Catholic, but attends a Christian evangelical church (see Renewamerica). Secondly, Rubio has provided misleading background on how his parents left Cuba (see Miamiherald).  Rubio also wants to allow employers to exempt themselves from offering their women employees certain health care services if they so desire (see HuffPost). People just want the truth, and not different stories depending on his audience.

Gov. Chris Christie is another name that has been heard in the public arena. Chris Christie is a bully. He has degraded public school teachers, voiced his opposition for civil rights for gays, used a state helicopter for his private use, has made drastic cuts to education, but now wants tax cuts for the wealthy (see NJ.com). Christie's health problems are a major concern.

Of course, there are other Republicans that might be chosen as the VP candidate.  These mentioned above have some problems which relate to women, education, and civil rights. Are there any Republicans that care about the health concerns of women, civil rights for everyone, and funding public education?

Better Spent Elsewhere

  If you had an extra $100 million that you didn't need, what would you do with it? I have a few ideas what I'd do, but apparently some people need some guidance.

Forbes:

Sheldon Adelson plays as stubbornly in politics as he does in business. So the criticisms that he’s trying to personally buy the presidential election for Newt Gingrich are met with a roll of the eyes. “Those people are either jealous or professional critics,” Adelson tells me during his first interview since he and his wife began funneling $11 million, with another $10 million injection widely expected, into the former speaker’s super PAC, Winning Our Future. “They like to trash other people. It’s unfair that I’ve been treated unfair—but it doesn’t stop me. I might give $10 million or $100 million to Gingrich.”

Adelson, the 78-year-old CEO of casino giant Las Vegas Sands,  certainly can afford to: With a net worth of roughly $25 billion, that $11 million, which jolted Gingrich’s flatlining presidential bid back to life, equates to 0.044% of his fortune. For someone with a $1 million net worth, the equivalent would be $440, or a two-night stay at Adelson’s Venetian casino. Adelson could personally fund an entire presidential campaign—say, $1 billion or so—and not even notice....

Can you believe that $100 million would be wasted on a buffoon like Newt Gingrich???? Adelson has the right to do whatever he wishes with his money, but instead of giving it to a person, wouldn't it be better to give it to------

- a food bank that benefits unemployed families.
- the surviving families of our American heroes.
- building homes for the homeless in this country.
- helping the elderly.
- supporting scholarships for gifted students.
- helping a community like Joplin, Missouri to rebuild their schools and hospitals.
- starting a job training center for unemployed, unskilled young people.

Mr. Adelson needs some help.

Republicans = Neanderthals

The more that the Republican presidential candidates talk, the more they keep distancing themselves from the views of the typical American woman.  Rick Santorum wants to take funding away from elementary and secondary schools. He'd prefer that children be homeschooled.  (This is just another way for women to stay home. Without having access to birth control, women would once again be having babies every year.) Take a look at the latest bit of idiocy from Rick Santorum.

RawStory:

...The former Pennsylvania senators had told supporters on Saturday that the Affordable Care Act just created the requirement “because free prenatal testing ends up in more abortions and therefore less care that has to be done because we cull the ranks of the disabled in our society.”

“You sound like you’re saying the purpose of prenatal care is to cause to have people to have abortions, to get more abortions in this country,” CBS host Bob Schieffer told Santorum on Sunday. “I think any number of people would say that’s not the purpose at all.”

“That’s simply not true,” Santorum replied. “The bottom line is that a lot of prenatal tests are done to identify deformities in utero, and the customary procedure is to encourage abortions.” 

First, Rick Santorum is not a doctor, and not even a scientist.  He is just pulling another opinion out of his a** and trying to frame it as a fact.

Secondly, Santorum's own personal anecdote doesn't qualify as a scientific fact.

This is from NIH (the National Institute of Health):

Prenatal testing provides information about your baby's health before he or she is born. Some routine tests during pregnancy also check on your health. At your fist prenatal visit, your healthcare provider will test for a number of things, including problems with your blood, signs of infections, and whether you are immune to rubella (German measles) and chickenpox.

Throughout your pregnancy, your healthcare provider may suggest a number of other tests, too. Some tests are suggested for all women, such as screenings for gestational diabetes, Down syndrome, and HIV. Other tests might be offered based on your:

• Age
• Personal or family health history
• Ethnic background
• Results of routine tests...

Some women might be experiencing all the signs of a pregnancy, but might actually have cysts, tumors, or other problems. There are hundreds of reason why a woman might need pre-natal testing.  

Santorum, and the rest of the conservative Republicans that want to deny women health care, which includes birth control, exams, testing, screenings, etc., are determined to set women's health back several hundred years.  Rep. Darrell Issa and his circus of a hearing last week on women's birth control was a waste of time and money because you cannot discuss birth control when women are not even testifying!!!!!!! 

If you are looking for a brighter future for yourself and your children, you might as well take your gaze off of the Republican candidates. Because the Republicans are unable to provide any new solutions for our country's problems, they are waging a culture war. The GOP has become the party of white men that want to have power over women and minorities while their rich buddies get tax cuts.

If the Republicans are so interested in personal freedom, why are they against the rights and freedoms of women?  Women, we need to stick together and fight off the Republican Neanderthal agenda. 

Mitt Romney and the Trees in Michigan

* Does Newt Gingrich speak for all Catholics?  I don't think so.

Does Republican Rep. Darrell Issa and his all male panel of witnesses speak for women on contraceptive issues?  NO!

What do the Republicans hope to gain by bashing women and trying to limit access to birth control?

*  Am I the only one who thinks that Mitt Romney has been showing as much passion as a rock in his campaign?  He might be a very smart man, but his lack of empathy for the poor, the disenfranchised, and others just would not make him an interesting candidate.  Romney's attacks on union members, especially in Michigan, shows he is uninterested in those people and places he visits.  Most of all, Romney's dull, unorganized political speeches are uninspiring and lack details.  He thinks he should get the Republican nomination just because it is his turn. 

Mitt Romney likes trees. (You Tube)


****  N.J. Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would permit gay marriage in the state (see Businessweek).

Republicans--Turning off voters?

* Mitt Romney appears to alienating everyone in the state of Michigan.
CBS News:

Campaigning in Michigan, a labor stronghold, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney bashed union leaders and their ties to the Obama White House, calling the bailout of the auto industry payback for its bosses contributions to the president's campaign in 2008....

 

.....A day earlier, United Auto Workers President Bob King scolded Romney for spurning the auto industry. "He can try and rewrite history as much as he wants, but when we were at our darkest hour, Mitt Romney turned his back on the industry, their workers and the people of Michigan and in other places where Americans depend on the auto industry," King said in a statement.....

......Romney has been strongly defending his longstanding position that Detroit should not have received a government bailout in 2009, but rather should have undergone a managed bankruptcy. At a meeting with local business leaders before the rally, Romney claimed that Obama actually had agreed with that approach but took a different path for personal interests......

This ranting and raving about the American auto industry only makes Romney look foolish.  If he thinks he'll win Michigan after bashing everyone associated with the auto industry, he is very foolish.

_____________

I wonder how many women will be voting for the anti-birth control Republicans.

Crazy Republicans

Women hailed the introduction of birth control because it allowed them to actually make their own decisions about their lives.  In a 2010 CBS poll posted at CBS News, Americans voiced their opinions about birth control:


CBS News

Without birth control, women were tied to the home, undereducated, and unable to participate in the world outside the home.  Do Republicans want to put women back, out of the workforce, out of college, and business?  Are American women willing to give up controlling their own lives? 

********************

If Mitt Romney had been President instead of Obama, he would have allowed the American auto companies to die.  How do you like that, Michigan?  Mr. Mitt "severely conservative" Romney would have let that state up north just disintegrate.

***

Katrina Vanden Heuvel said, while a guest on the Ed Show, that Republicans are targeting the health care of women, the rights of women, and their economic independence.

Why would anyone, especially a woman, vote for the Neanderthals in the Republican Party?

Warning Signs Ahead!!!

Those Republicans in Virginia, under the leadership of Gov. Bob McDonnell, want to force women to have a vaginal ultrasound before she can have an abortion. To put it clearly, the Republicans in Virginia want some doctor to forcibly put medical equipment into your body, if you want an abortion.  I'd view that as a sexual assault. 

USA Today:

A Republican supermajority has muscled two of the most restrictive anti-abortion bills in years through the Virginia House, including one that would all but outlaw the procedure in the state by declaring that the rights of persons apply from the moment sperm and egg unite.

The bills passed over bitter yet futile objections from Democrats. And one GOP delegate caused the House to ripple when he said most abortions come as "matters of lifestyle convenience."

Del. Bob Marshall's House Bill 1 on personhood at conception passed on a 66-32 vote. And on a 63-36 vote, the House passed a bill that requires women to have a "transvaginal ultrasound" before undergoing abortions......

 A Republican in the Virginia House, Delegate Todd Gilbert, made a comment that showed his lack of understanding for women who are faced with making a decision about an abortion.  Todd Gilbert said, according to USA Today, "But in the vast majority of these cases, these are matters of lifestyle convenience."

 If you'd like to contact Todd Gilbert and share your opinion, here is his contact information:   

Phone: (540) 459-7550  and Email: deltgilbert@house.virginia.gov

McDonnell, the Virginia Republican governor wants to be a vice presidential candidate.  If Bob McDonnell is a candidate for Vice President, there could be an incredible amount of bumper stickers that would remind every woman in the country that McDonnell supports women being forcibly assaulted with a "transvaginal ultrasound." If you are unsure what a "transvaginal ultrasound"  is, Google it.

----------------------------------

The "Puppetmaster" is a great nickname for Grover Norguist.  David Frum's article at the Daily Beast quotes some shocking things from Norquist from CPAC:

All we have to do is replace Obama. ...  We are not auditioning for fearless leader. We don't need a president to tell us in what direction to go. We know what direction to go. We want the Ryan budget. ... We just need a president to sign this stuff. We don't need someone to think it up or design it. The leadership now for the modern conservative movement for the next 20 years will be coming out of the House and the Senate.

The requirement for president?

Pick a Republican with enough working digits to handle a pen to become president of the United States. This is a change for Republicans: the House and Senate doing the work with the president signing bills. His job is to be captain of the team, to sign the legislation that has already been prepared.

This is not a very complimentary assessment of Romney's leadership....

Grover Norquist believes that Romney is a weak, easily manipulated, non-thinker that will do whatever he is told.  That is a great endorsement.  Norquist just revealed a lot about Romney and what he'd do as President.

More Things for Sale in Ohio?

* Another dumb idea from Gov. John Kasich, and it will end up costing you more.


 FoxToledo:

...Gov. John Kasich has said leasing rest areas might be a way to address a gap in the transportation budget.

Ohio pays between $30 million and $50 million annually to maintain the facilities.

How do you think a company would make money leasing the rest stops within the state?  You'd have to pay more for services.  There would probably be coin operated toilets, and higher prices on vending machines or food services.  Wouldn't that be fun taking children into paid toilets?

I didn't vote for Kasich, so you can't blame me for his attempts to sell off the state's assets.  If you've learned anything from Kasich and his Ohio Republicans it is this---- never trust a Republican.

Speaking of Republicans not to trust------ How about that Josh Mandel, Ohio Treasurer that is working harder at trying to get a new job than the job he has?  Mandel hasn't revealed much about his own views except he supported SB 5, has voted against supporting public and higher education, likes Paul Ryan's budget plan that gives vouchers to senior citizens, and wants to spend more money on defense, blah, blah, blah,......

Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel has also spent some time in Kentucky, according to a post on Facebook:

• • Wednesday, July 27, 2011
  • 6:00pm until 8:00pm

• 925 Appleblossom Drive, Villa Hills, Kentucky 41017

• Please join Ian and Alona Koffler, Special Guest, Josh Mandel, Ohio State Treasurer, County Judge Executives, PVA, KY House and Senate members and dozens of others for our Northern Kentucky kick-off campaign event. Suggested contribution is $100.00, but our greatest interest is having you there for this event! Please come out next Wednesday. RSVP at kc4treasurer.com or just come on out! PAID FOR BY KC CROSBIE FOR TREASURER.

  Besides trips to California, Hawaii, DC, Florida, New York, Colorado, Texas, we can also add Kentucky to places Josh Mandel has visited other than the office to which he was elected.

****************************************

I just saw Jon Stewart mention this:

Newshounds:

Sean Hannity incited a group of clergymen to break the law and claimed he would go to jail, too, in order to protest women gaining the guaranteed access to reproductive health benefits President Obama wants for them. But Fox News contributor Father Jonathan Morris upped the ante as he declared fervently, “If I’m asked to do something that goes against my conscience, I’d better be willing to die for that. If I’m not willing to die for that, what am I standing up for?”

It was all part of an hour-long Hannity special Friday night (2/10/12) with the laughable title of “Faith in America.” It should have been called, “How To Use Faith To Promote An Anti-Obama, Anti-Choice Political Agenda.” Tactic #1 was to play the persecuted Christian martyr. Hannity opened by saying, “Let me start with a really simple premise question. Is there a war now against, on religion in America?”

....So there you have it. Fox Newsies are eager to start a holy war - in order to prevent women from getting contraception covered by health insurance.

How big of Sean Hannity to have a discussion about women's health care and include only men. Hannity is still an idiot.

Still No Exotic Animal Law in Ohio

* The Ohio Republicans that control the state legislature have not passed a bill to restrict the ownership of exotic animals. Last fall, Zanesville, Ohio, saw the owner of a private zoo release exotic animals before taking his own life. The result was outrage around the world.
 Jack Hanna shared his concerns about the public's safety.


RomeNewTribune:

Celebrity zookeeper Jack Hanna criticized Ohio lawmakers Thursday for not yet passing a bill to regulate exotic animals, months after authorities shot nearly dozens of lions, tigers, bears and other wild creatures let loose by their suicidal owner.

A Republican state senator from Zanesville, the eastern Ohio city where the animals were shot, had planned to introduce a bill this week but then said it was not ready. There is no new timetable for the measure.

"What's it going to take, everyone, to pass a bill? Someone else getting killed?" Hanna said during his remarks to an Ohio newspaper trade group......

The dangers of exotic animals associated with private ownership are real.  That doesn't seem to matter to Ohio's Republicans. The work schedule of the Ohio General Assembly is really disgusting.  It is no wonder they get nothing done. Don't you wish you had a job with good pay and little work?

Legislative calendar:

February 2012 [Back to Top]	Senate	House
Tue. Feb 07	Session at 1:30 p.m.	Session at 11:00 a.m.
Wed. Feb 08		Session at 1:30 p.m.
Thu. Feb 09		Committee Hearings
Tue. Feb 14	Session at 1:30 p.m.	Session at 11:00 a.m.
Wed. Feb 15	Session at 1:30 p.m.	Session at 1:30 p.m.
Thu. Feb 16		Committee Hearings
March 2012 [Back to Top]	Senate	House
Tue. Mar 13	Session at 1:30 p.m.	Session at 11:00 a.m.
Wed. Mar 14	Session at 1:30 p.m.	Session at 1:30 p.m.
Thu. Mar 15	Committee Hearings	Committee Hearings
Tue. Mar 20	Session at 1:30 p.m.	Session at 11:00 a.m.
Wed. Mar 21	Session at 1:30 p.m.	Session at 1:30 p.m.
Thu. Mar 22	Committee Hearings	Committee Hearings
Tue. Mar 27	Session at 1:30 p.m.	Session at 11:00 a.m.
Wed. Mar 28	Session at 1:30 p.m.	Session at 1:30 p.m.
Thu. Mar 29	Committee Hearings	Committee Hearings

They are hardly working. 

*** What have we here? Yes, folks, we have another stupid idea from Republicans.

Raw Story:

A Republican State Representative in New Hampshire has found a way to create a new front in the war on workers, proposing a bill that would repeal the state’s law requiring that workers get a 30-minute lunch break after five hours of labor. 

State Rep. J.R. Hoell (R), a supporter of libertarian-leaning Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) for president, told a New Hampshire General Court committee this week that he believes the law is unnecessary because it is in employers’ interest to treat workers well, according to The Concord Monitor.

His argument was seconded by state Rep. Kyle Jones (R), a 20-year-old Ron Paul backer who earned a seat in the New Hampshire General Court during the last election as part of a mother-son candidate slate.... 

Is there something organically wrong with the Republican brain that allows them to come up with completely ignorant, disrespectful proposals?  

Kasich and More Job Losses

*** Gov. John Kasich's long and winding state of the state speech is getting more scrutiny today.  HuffPost has details about some of the lows of the speech as well as Kasich's imitation of someone with Parkinson's disease.  Those of us who have loved ones with Parkinson's are not at all impressed by Kasich's talk about the disease.  To be fair, Kasich should have prepared his speech and therefore, he would have gotten his facts straight.  Instead, he looks like a complete jerk, as usual.

>>>>>  The Warn Notice has not gone up on the planned layoffs in Ohio for Eastman Kodak.  However, the Chiquita warn notice is up and they plan to layoff 200 people in Hamilton County. As of the first of the year, over 1500 have lost jobs in Ohio. This is another example of Kasich's failure to keep and bring in more jobs to the state.

* To tell you the truth, I really hadn't heard of this latest right wing controversy until today. Apparently some right wing hatemongers are targeting JC Penney because the company has hired Ellen DeGeneres as a spokesperson. The right wingers boycotting JC Penney do not like Ellen DeGeneres because she is gay. Eonline has all the details.

Give me a break.  If right wingers are against Ellen and JC Penney, then I'll make sure to watch Ellen's show and shop at JC Penney. My Mother always shopped at JC Penney for many household items. Since JC Penney has is standing by Ellen, I'll stand by them.


* I'm so, so, so, sick of right wing conservative men who want to determine my reproductive decisions!!!!!!!!!  Someone, anyone, please tell John Boehner that Catholic women are already taking birth control pills. (See HuffPost on Boehner's demands.)

PennLive:

...Birth control usage is nearly universal among American women with 99 percent of all sexually experienced women — and 98 percent of sexually experienced Catholic women — using birth control at some point in their lives....

Kasich Contributor Gets Big Return

Pay to play???? You betcha!!!!

* Ohio Secretary of State campaign contribution website reports:
The Kasich-Taylor committee received $4,040 in campaign contributions from individuals that work for KPMG... 

ClevelandPlainDealer:

The state is on track to spend up to $2.85 million for consultants to study options that would wring transportation funding from the Ohio Turnpike....

...The state Controlling Board is expected to vote on the contract with KPMG Corporate Finance LLC, of Austin, Texas, Monday. 

KPMG's team will look at scenarios that include keeping the turnpike as is; putting it under ODOT control and using a portion of toll revenue to finance transportation projects; or leasing it out for up-front cash and a portion of yearly revenues...

What a deal!  KPMG's people contributed money, now they will be granted $2.85 million from the state to do the study!!!  Ohio has just seen the old "pay to play" reinstated.  Kasich's buddies have their noses in the trough.

 I am thankful that I missed the State of the State speech given by Gov. John Kasich today.  He wasted 80 minutes of people's lives with his babbling.

Mitt-Not So Much

A new poll shows how Americans think of Mitt Romney.

ABC News:

....Fifty percent of Americans in this new ABC News/Washington Post poll approve of Obama’s job performance, the most since spring. Fifty percent say he deserves re-election, better than Bill Clinton at the start of his re-election year and as good as George W. Bush a month before he won a second term. And Obama now leads Romney among registered voters by a slight 51-45 percent, the first time either has cracked 50 percent in a series of matchups since spring......

The other: questions focused on Romney’s wealth, his low tax burden and, relatedly, his ability to connect with average Americans. Notably, 52 percent in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates, say the more they hear about Romney the less they like him – double the number who like him more.

Based on his roughly 14 percent tax rate on 2010 income of about $22 million, the public by a broad 66-30 percent says Romney is not paying his fair share of taxes; even nearly half of Republicans say so, as do half of very conservative Americans. The public by 53-36 percent, a 17-point margin, thinks Obama better understands the economic problems people are having. Obama leads Romney by 55-37 percent in trust to better protect the interests of the middle class, and remarkably, by 10 points, 52-42 percent, in trust to handle taxes.....

Let me highlight that important sentence from the ABC News report:

...Notably, 52 percent in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates, say the more they hear about Romney the less they like him – double the number who like him more.....

Whoa!  Do you think that Romney's presidential campaign that seems like it has been going on since 2007, just is boring the heck out of people?  It also might be that Romney seems to lack passion.  His lack of passion for the poor, minorities, the unemployed, the elderly, etc., just makes people wince every single time he speaks.  Personally, I look away from the TV when his face appears, and I automatically disregard what he says.  Americans just doesn't have it.

Mitt Romney is about as exciting, creative, and interesting as a baloney sandwich on white bread.

The Continuing Assault on Women

The recent controversy surround Komen's intention to cut ties with Planned Parenthood is an example of how the right continues to try to tear apart the rights of women.  If conservatives had their way, women would not be able to have birth control or any reproductive freedom regarding their own bodies.   Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, has authored many bills to criminalize the use of birth control pills (see YouTube), even as they use false claims about what birth control pills do.

The fallout continues as Komen tries to regain its footing following their huge public relations disaster. As we look back, we can see perhaps the origin of the controversy. SouthernStudies  indicates that fingers are being pointed at Karen Handel:

....Republican and staunch abortion opponent Karen Handel, who became Komen's VP for Public Policy in April 2011.

The latest evidence comes from The Huffington Post now says that , which claims to have viewed internal emails confirming Handel's instigator role, as well as providing this anonymous email from a Komen staffer:

Karen Handel was the prime instigator of this effort, and she herself personally came up with investigation criteria. She said, 'If we just say it's about investigations, we can defund Planned Parenthood and no one can blame us for being political.'

Handel's other work shows her as an advocate for more restrictive voting rights.

Women must continue to be alert to those on the right who'd like us to return to the days of the 1500's.  I don't know about you, but I'm not willing to give up my rights as a modern American woman just to satisfy some conservatives.  Most Republican presidential candidates appear likely to push for restrictions on birth control, voters' rights, and even free speech.  A true indication of a man is the way he treats women.  Take a look at these candidates and their relationships with women and you'll see what they think about you.

Stock Market Up

--- WashingtonPost:

A drop in the unemployment rate to its lowest level in three years propelled the Dow Jones industrial average Friday to its highest close since May 2008, before the financial meltdown later that year. The Nasdaq composite index hit an 11-year high.

The Dow jumped 156.82 points to 12,862.23, its highest mark since May 19, 2008, about four months before Lehman Brothers investment bank collapsed. In May 2008, credit markets were tightening up, subprime mortgages were going sour and Bear Stears had already collapsed.

Before the market opened, the Labor Department said the economy added 243,000 jobs in January. It was the strongest job growth in nine months. The increase in hiring pushed the unemployment rate down to 8.3 percent, the lowest since February 2009.....

Can you imagine how many jobs would have been created if the Republicans would have supported President Obama's job bills?  Millions and millions of jobs would have been given to millions and millions of Americans.  But Republicans would rather sit on their tucheses and do nothing, nothing, and nothing!  Republicans are delighted that you don't have a job.



***  Voters have gotten a peek into the rivalry between Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Chairman of the Ohio GOP, Kevin DeWine.  Kasich has been trying to remove Kevin DeWine from his leadership post since January 2011.

ONNTV:

Gov. John Kasich and supporters who are mounting a coup against incumbent Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine suffered a major setback Friday.

Incumbent members of the Ohio Republican Party central committee voted narrowly to severely restrict membership on the committee. 

A move designed to help DeWine....

I'm no fan of either guy, but I'm all for anything that restricts the power of John Kasich.

**** Will someone explain to me why Sen. Orrin Hatch is so disrespectful toward President Obama? Sen. Hatch must not honor that part of the Bible that says that we should be our "brother's keeper" because he criticized a speech given by the President which advocated helping others (see Raw Story).  President Obama never said that he was Jesus Christ. Hatch is a little confused.

Also, during the prayer breakfast this morning, while President Obama was giving his speech, Republican Rep. Phil Gingrey of Georgia, walked out. Gingrey, according to the Marietta News, said the President was "politicking." I think Gingrey is out of line. The President was sharing the concept of helping each other.

Just Awful

* When I read this story today, I was absolutely horrified.  How could this happen?

SunTimes:

The nation’s leading breast-cancer charity, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, is halting its partnerships with Planned Parenthood affiliates — creating a bitter rift, linked to the abortion debate, between two iconic organizations that have assisted millions of women.

The change will mean a cutoff of hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants, mainly for breast exams.

Planned Parenthood says the move results from Komen bowing to pressure from anti-abortion activists. Komen says the key reason is that Planned Parenthood is under investigation in Congress — a probe launched by a conservative Republican who was urged to act by anti-abortion groups.....

Women who've been able to get exams at Planned Parenthood because of grant money it received from Komen are now out of luck.  How did this happen?  Here is a hint......

Salon:

...Komen says the move is just about “newly adopted criteria barring grants to organizations that are under investigation by local, state or federal authorities.” You know what else is pretty “new” around Komen? Its senior vice president of public policy, Karen Handel. During the Sarah Palin-endorsed, Tea Party favorite’s 2010 campaign for governor of Georgia, Handel declared, “I do not support the mission of Planned Parenthood,” making clear that she “strongly supports” laws prohibiting “the use of taxpayer funds for abortions or abortion-related services.” She did, however, emphasize that she “strongly support(s) the noble work of crisis-pregnancy centers.” If you were one of the world’s biggest charities and were looking to hire someone who had women’s welfare as her greatest imperative, would you go for someone who’d send them to a place that offers breast cancer screenings – as well as ovarian cancer screenings and HPV tests? Or someone who prefers a bunch of right-to-life fanatics pretending to be a medical facility? If you picked the former, you’re smarter than Komen for the Cure. 

That Komen has raised staggering amounts of money is undeniable. There’s also pretty compelling evidence that it has done so in some pretty boneheaded ways. So given its track record, it’s fair to ask what happens now to the 11 percent of the Komen budget that goes to screening... 

....It’s worth noting that while breast cancer rates are dipping, an October report from the American Cancer Society warned that they are declining more slowly among low-income women, and that “Poor women are now at greater risk for breast cancer death because of less access to screening and better treatments. This continued disparity is impeding real progress against breast cancer.” You know who loses when Komen backs away from Planned Parenthood? Probably not those nice, pink-clad ladies who attend Susan Komen wine-tasting events.....

Many, many women have already stated that they will not participate in the Komen race again. Several online petitions have started and women are writing about this horrible move by Komen.  Here are a few suggested sites:

Blackbirdwhistling
SignonPetition to Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Moveon Petition-Put Women's Lives Before Politics
Change Petition-Do Not Defund Planned Parenthood

Donate to the national or local Planned Parenthood organizations. Help them help women.

Can you spare $100,000?

* What kind of people are supporting the candidacy of Mitt Romney?
NY Times:

Close to 60 corporations and wealthy individuals gave checks of $100,000 or more to a “super PAC” supporting Mitt Romney in the months leading up to the Iowa caucuses, according to documents released on Tuesday, underwriting a $17 million blitz of advertising that has swamped his Republican rivals in the early primary states....

...Millions of dollars came from financial industry executives, including Mr. Romney’s former colleagues at Bain Capital, who contributed a total of $750,000; senior executives at Goldman Sachs, who contributed $385,000; and some of the most prominent and politically active Republicans in the hedge fund world, three of whom gave $1 million each: Robert Mercer of Renaissance Technologies; Paul Singer of Elliott Management, and Julian Robertson of Tiger Management. 

Harlan Crow, the Texas construction magnate, gave $300,000 personally and through his company. William Koch, whose brothers Charles and David are among the country’s most prominent backers of conservative causes, gave $1 million personally or through Oxbow Carbon, the energy company he founded. Members of the Walton family, founders of the Walmart chain, gave over $200,000, while Bob Perry — a wealthy home builder who has long been the top patron of Mr. Romney’s erstwhile rival, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas — chipped in $500,000 in early December....

Wow! How many people have a spare $100,000 or more to give to Romney?  Do you?  This kind of information only highlights the fact that Romney's agenda would help the rich.  Romney, who famously tried to bet Rick Perry $10,000, is completely unaware of the plight of average Americans.  Those that are contributing to Romney's campaign know they would benefit from a Romney administration.  

 *  *  *  *

* U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is introducing some new legislation.
Washington Post:

Sherrod Brown is calling on his fellow Senators, Democrats and Republicans alike, to take a stand on a simple question: Should Senators be allowed to own stock in companies whose bottom lines are directly affected by their votes?

...Brown will introduce the measure — which could very well get a vote — as an amendment to the STOCK Act that’s currently being debated in the Senate. The STOCK Act would ban insider stock trading in Congress, preventing members of Congress from using “non public information” derived from their position to explicitly enrich themselves. But the STOCK proposal doesn’t address the far more pervasive situation in which members are casting votes that directly impact companies they have a financial stake in.

Brown says he supports the STOCK Act, but that it isn’t good enough. His proposal would formally prohibit members from owning individual stock in any companies directly affected by any of their official duties. This rule already applies to committee staff and executive branch employees, but not officials elected to the legislative branch.....

This kind of reform is definitely needed.

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* Ohio Gov. John Kasich has opened tickets to his State of the State speech to a raffle.  I don't why he thought there would be such a demand.  Ohioans already know what the condition Ohio is in and we don't need to hear Kasich tell us.

Since the beginning of the year, eight hundred people have been notified of job losses, according to ODJFS Warn Notices.


* The far right Gov. Mitch Daniels is pushing his right-to-work legislation through the Indiana legislature. One of the results could be that the state of Indiana could see a boycott by some large conventions and meetings.

* Will Republicans get their panties in a knot since Mitt Romney used teleprompters last night for his speech in Florida?