Saturday, March 31, 2012

Josh Mandel's Inexperienced Staff

* The eternally campaigning Josh Mandel (AKA Ohio Treasurer) has some explaining to do about his hiring of young, inexperienced campaign workers and friends to work as his staff in the Treasurer's office.  The Dayton Daily News actually did something we don't see very often------ investigative reporting.  (The Dispatch just works as the Ohio GOP's public relations department.)  Thank you, Dayton Daily News, for going out and researching, interviewing people, and putting together a real news story!

Dayton Daily News:

...To see if Mandel was fulfilling his pledge not to hire political friends the Daily News reviewed personnel files and other records from the treasurer’s office. The review showed that Mandel put qualified, experienced staff members in some top positions, but also hired six campaign workers whose average age is 26 and assigned them duties ranging from debt management to policy-advising to community outreach.

Mandel, who is 34, picked as his new senior policy advisor 27-year-old Michael Lord, who was his campaign manager and, prior to that, legislative aide. Lord, who also served as a paid political consultant, earned $13.95 an hour as Mandel’s aide during his stint in the legislature. His new position has a salary of $100,000....

.....Jacob Dummermuth, 22, worked on the Mandel treasurer campaign as an intern. Mandel then hired him in the treasurer’s office in May 2011 to research and write materials for community outreach events such as financial education conferences. Dummermuth, who had not graduated college when he landed the job, was paid $16.83 an hour plus benefits — a big jump over the $7.50 an hour he made as a part-timer at HoneyBaked Ham as a cashier and stock boy. Dummermuth resigned from Mandel’s office in January 2012.....

Wow! This is the best Mandel could do?  At these salaries, Ohio taxpayers don't expect on the job training or we'd all be applying for these jobs in Josh Mandel's office.


* Gov. John Kasich signed another bill into law that creates more required, mandated instruction, which goes along well with his cuts to education.  Once again Kasich and his Republicans are pushing for more tests!

MariettaTimes:

Ohio Gov. John Kasich has signed into law a bill that requires students in grades 4-12 be taught the original texts of the state and U.S. constitutions, the Declaration of Independence and other documents. 

Proponents of the bill signed Friday said it was important for students to study the actual texts and not just summaries and analyses. 

The law, which takes effect in three months, would require high school end-of-course examinations in American history and American government, and at least 20 percent of the government exam would relate to the documents by the 2013-2014 school year.....

Nothing in the article indicates any funding for materials for this requirement.  

I wrote about this legislation on December 13, 2011 on this blog:

Pushing this type of study, will help Republicans eliminate why certain groups were given rights.  Does this mean that there will be no discussion of Women's Rights, Civil Rights, Child Labor, integration, voters rights, etc.?

Alternet suggests that this type of instruction is being supported by right wingers:

....Originalist constitutional theory developed during the Reagan years as a critique of activist judges. Its theorists argued that a jurisprudence focused on the original intent of the Founders would serve as a means of limiting the discretion of judges. This theory proved controversial from the start and was subjected to a number of withering criticisms. One of the many problems with the theory stemmed from its shaky historical foundations. Simply put, the Founders did not speak with a single voice on most constitutional questions......

......“New Originalism” has grown over the last decade, largely spurred by right-wing scholars, judges, and generous support from the Federalist Society, the wealthy conservative legal group that has become a farm team for conservative judges and academics. In contrast to traditional originalism, new originalism emerged at a time when the Supreme Court was dominated by a conservative majority, as it is today. The goal of new originalism is not to constrain judges, but to empower them to further the agenda of conservatives. (A few liberals have embraced a version of this theory, hoping to use it to revive and expand aspects of the Fourteenth Amendment, but this is a small minority within the originalist movement.) For right-wing scholars and judges, new originalism serves as a type of constitutional camouflage. It allows “conservatives” to create their own living constitution and advance a form of judicial activism, while claiming to be simply engaged in an act of constitutional redemption....

Are Republicans trying to push their propaganda on our school children? You betcha!  They are trying to make our children into little right wingers who want to adhere to only those laws in the original documents. This is also discussed in an article by conservative Steven Hayward,  "After Reagan: Five Challenges for 21st Century Conservatives." Once again, we are confronted with the right wing agenda and an unfunded mandate.

Friday, March 30, 2012

Does Josh Mandel support arsenic in drinking water?

*  Josh Mandel's campaign has been very lucky with some contributions.  By stating that he thinks the EPA's rules are too strict,  Josh Mandel's campaign is bringing in the big dough from those companies and industries that are major polluters.  Mandel has become a BFF with companies that want to rollback the rules about how much mercury, arsenic, and benzene they can dump into our water systems and the air that we breathe. 

In an email obtained by the Plain Dealer, Josh Mandel released this:

"Here they come....Sherrod Brown's deep-pocketed fringe environmental friends have begun their war on Ohio Marine Josh Mandel, in their attempt to stop Josh from shaking up Washington."

Ray Yonkura, Mandel's campaign manager, sent it to supporters today in an email. In one sentence alone, he has "deep-pocketed" people (rather than the wealthy, or job creators, or champions of free enterprise). He has fringe environmentalists. And, by golly, they are at war with a Marine who only wants to shake up things in Washington.....


Hmmm.  I'm not a "deep-pocketed" person, and I certainly don't consider myself part of any "fringe" group. I'm a woman, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and a pet owner, and I want my family (and pets) to have safe, clean, drinkable water and clean, unpolluted air.  Is that too much to ask????

If you'd like some arsenic or mercury in your drinking water or in water that you add to the baby formula powder, your candidate is definitely Josh Mandel.  Josh Mandel doesn't seem to care that you and your children will suffer health problems, mental illnesses, and possibly become incapacitated because his polluter friends are pouring in the cash to his campaign. 

While I honor his service to the military, it is unnecessary for Josh Mandel to repeat that he served in the Marines in every news release, every email, and every speech.  I've had family members die in service to our country, others that survived previous wars, and some are serving overseas today.  Those that have passed away never bragged like a school boy about their service. They acted honorably and decently, and only told about their service when asked.  Today, my family and friends that have served and those that continue to serve in wars don't brag about their military service to get attention. 

  Here are just a few of the questions I'd like Josh Mandel answer:

1.  What are Josh Mandel's qualifications for being a U.S. Senator? 
 2.  Did he ever take his law boards? Why or why not? If he did, does he plan to take them again, since he obviously did not pass?
3.  What are his goals, and plans if he is elected?
4.  Did he support the Lilly Ledbetter Act? 
5.  Is he for or against a woman's reproductive freedom? 
6.  Does he think Social Security should be privatized? 
7.  Since he supports the Paul Ryan plan to privatize Medicare and give vouchers to seniors, does he understand the ramifications to seniors? Does he know anyone personally that survives only on Social Security and Medicare?
8.   Are the lovely ladies and gentlemen at Menorah Park in Beachwood, Cedar Village in Mason, Covenant House in Dayton, Heritage Manor in Youngstown, Friendship Village in Dublin, and other Ohio senior residences okay with an end to Medicare?  Do these senior citizens feel that they are capable of dealing with a health care voucher and searching for health insurance on their own?

9.  Does Mandel think that college students should be able to vote where they attend college?
10.  Should only a photo identification be used to qualify a person to vote?
11.  Does he support public schools?
12.  Why did he support SB 5?
13.  Why did he vote against a bill to end discriminatory practices in employment and housing when he served in the Ohio General Assembly?
14.  Why does he think that what he says in a speech should not be heard by the public?
15.   Which members of the Republican Party are advising him? 
16.   Why does he think that going to a political event is more important than attending a Board of Deposits meeting?
17.  Which unelected staff members are doing his job while he is out of the office?
18.  Why was going to the Bahamas to meet payday lenders so important?
19.  Why was Josh Mandel against saving the American auto industry and hundreds of thousands of jobs?


I'm sure I'll think of more questions for Josh Mandel. I'd like to suggest that we start demanding answers from Josh Mandel.  The same talking point answers are old and do not provide specific details.  Ohio voters need more than those tired old lines.


The Youngstown Vindicator has something to add:

....The ambitious Mandel started raising money for his Senate campaign about five minutes after his four-year term as state treasurer began in January 2011....

....He has such a small political track record. He never sponsored a bill approved by the Ohio House while serving there. But Republicans definitely like what he has to say as he travels across the country speaking to supporters who shower him with money.

As for being treasurer, Mandel touts the office’s success even though it’s obvious he’s spent a lot more time focusing on running for Senate than running the treasurer’s office....

Mandel needs to spend more time on his current job instead of letting someone else do it.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

They Don't Care!

* ABC News has the video of George Zimmerman being brought into the Sanford, Florida, police station.  He does not appear injured.

****  Josh Mandel's lack of interest in telling the truth is getting noticed.  Maddowblog:

....as Greg Sargent noted today, the problem in this case is not just that the politician can't support one of his own claims, it's that Mandel doesn't even see the need to bother.....
         Consider his response in an interview last week when asked again to identify a 
         single Ohio job that went to China because of a decisive vote by Brown.

       "If that's the level of specificity you're looking for, you're the reporters -- you go 
        do the grunt work," said Mandel.
The Republican added that he considers the claim to be true -- even if he can't offer evidence, and even if reality points in another direction -- and vowed to repeat the attack "again and again" as the Senate race continues.....

What does it say about a candidate that admits that he'll keep lying?

>>>>>>>  Mitt Romney just doesn't care about the poor and those with pre-existing conditions.  Mitt Romney's interview with Jay Leno reveals a lot about Romney.

Political Wire:

...Romney: "People with pre-existing conditions, as long as they have been insured before, they are going to be able to continue to have insurance."

Leno: "Suppose they haven't been insured."

Romney: "If they are 45 years old and they show up and say I want insurance because I have heart disease, it's like, 'Hey guys. We can't play the game like that. You've got to get insurance when you are well and then if you get ill, you are going to be covered.'"


Mitt Romney, the rich guy that has friends that "own" Nascar cars, just doesn't care about the poor, the sick, the unemployed, or anyone that isn't in his same level of income. Romney's arrogance is troubling.  Has he read Matthew 25:36?

Monday, March 26, 2012

Sheen Right, Stivers Wrong

****  It is very easy to agree with what Martin Sheen has to say.



On the other hand, it is very easy to disagree with the Republican obstructionists that want to destroy Medicare in order to fund more tax cuts for corporations and the 1%.

>>>>>  Republican Rep. Steve Stivers (OH-15) is doing his best to protect his banking friends. In the past, even as a state senator in Ohio, Stivers voted against consumer protection laws, and now he is doing it again.  After the banking crisis of 2008, laws were passed to protect average citizens from the unfair, reckless practices of banks where they misused the public trust and over leveraged their funds.  Banks created disasters, and therefore, they should be regulated.  Stivers and his Republican colleagues want banks to operate without regulations and controls.

The Hill:

...One of the bills, from Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), would exempt inter-affiliate swaps from some regulatory requirements under Dodd-Frank. Inter-affiliate swaps are the exchange of financial derivatives that allow companies under a common corporate ownership to move risk around, and are seen as far less risky to the broader market than swaps between unrelated companies....

Are Stivers and the Republicans trying to create another banking crisis?  Do these Republicans support their banking friends getting more profits while citizens lose money and security in their banks?  Sacrificing safety and trust so that bankers can make more profits is wrong, immoral, and unethical. 

****  My heart goes out to the family and friends of Trayvon Martin.  With a vigilante taking it upon himself to shoot a youngster because of wearing a hoodie, it all just makes me sick.  I cannot imagine the heartache that the family feels.  The entire case just makes me so sad.  We had all hoped that we had gotten beyond racism, but apparently prejudice still lives.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

"....a casual relationship with the truth...."

It looks like Josh Mandel and his campaign are unable and unwilling to deal in telling the truth.  According to an analysis done in the Plain Dealer, Josh Mandel appears to have a "...casual relationship with the truth...

PlainDealer:

...The Republican state treasurer and aspiring U.S. senator blamed incumbent rival Sherrod Brown for Ohio jobs relocating to China, a transparent attempt to turn Brown's strong position on foreign trade into a weakness. 

Mixing audacity with absurdity, the claim earned a Pants on Fire rating from PolitiFact Ohio. 

For the Mandel campaign, the rebuke from the fact-checking arm of The Plain Dealer was just another day at the office. Mandel has received three of PolitiFact Ohio's seven most recent Pants on Fire rulings. Of his 14 statements evaluated on the Truth-O-Meter since 2010, six have been deemed Mostly False, False or Pants on Fire.....

Not only has Mandel given outright false statements, but his lack of dedication to a real work ethic in his job as Ohio Treasurer, has raised lots of eyebrows.  Skipping 14 out of 15 Board of Deposit meetings, taking off for fundraising events during regular work hours, has made many Ohioans concerned that Mandel's ambition has gotten in the way of his responsibilities as Treasurer.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Hold on To Your Hats!

*  If you live in Ohio and are not a supporter of the Ohio GOP, you are probably enjoying the circular firing squad that the Republicans are using.  The feud between Gov. John Kasich and Ohio GOP Chair Kevin DeWine appears to involve ethics charges, people losing jobs, and lots of acrimony.

The good people over at Plunderbund have been following the dirty details and the text of info sent to the Ohio Ethics Commission.  (Note:  Be sure to read all of the comments below the post.)

Plunderbund:

...Below is the full text of the ethics complaint about Kasich and his staff that was sent to the Ohio Ethics Commission last week. It’s long – but definitely worth reading…..

1). Kasich allies threatened to do financial harm to Dayton Power & Light, an investor-owned utility subject to regulation by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, unless Jean Raga dropped out of the Central Committee contest. She is married to DP&L lobbyist Tom Raga, who supports Kevin DeWine’s continued employment as Ohio Republican Party Chairman.  The intimidation included blocking Mr. Raga’s participation in invitation-only meetings in the governor’s office. Mrs. Raga dropped out of the contest on the eve of the election.....

4).  Central Committee member Ebony Grantonz was urged to support efforts to topple DeWine and warned that her husband,Henry Kurtis, would not be reappointed to the Motor Vehicles Dealers Board, unless she said with Kasich allies. She refused; her husband was not reappointed......

OMG.


*  If you are near to going on Medicare, or already on Medicare, you must look at the Paul Ryan budget plan.  His "path to prosperity" is really a path for the rich to get richer as they take more and more away from the Medicare program.  According to the Paul Ryan program, a Medicare recipient would not longer have Medicare administering the program.  A person would be given a coupon worth "X" number of dollars to go find health insurance.  If, for example, the coupon is worth $4,000 for the year 2013, the following year the coupon's worth goes to $3,000.  In successive years, the amount received continues to decrease until there is no coupon, no money, and no Medicare!!!!!!  What do Paul Ryan and the Republicans do with all that money that formerly went to the Medicare program????  They give that money to the wealthy in the form of tax cuts.  That is their path to prosperity!  It just isn't your prosperity.

Paul Ryan worships the atheistic doctrine of Ayn Rand, and in doing so believes that only the wealthy have the right to govern and control.  Ayn Rand considered everyone else "parasites."  Someone needs to step up and ask Republican Rep. Paul Ryan if he considers senior citizens "parasites" like Ayn Rand did.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

More on Paul Ryan Budget



The Catholic Alliance for the Common Good has an article that reviews Paul Ryan's budget:

...A closer look at the accounting of “The Path to Prosperity,” reveals that the House Republican budget lets the bullies win, at the stake of well, everyone else: the middle class, seniors, working families and the poor. 
A quick tally of who wins and who loses in the Republican budget looks like this:
* For the 1%, it provides more than 3 trillion dollars of tax cuts for the rich and wealthy companies;
* For big oil, it keeps in place $40 billion in tax giveaways;
* For seniors, it shreds the health care services they are counting on – driving up costs, ending Medicare as we know it;
* For the working poor, it cuts efforts to help struggling families get back on their feet, it ends meals for families amid deep job losses including $1 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program;
* For the disabled and children at risk, it leaves them on their own.

Serve the rich. That appears to be the value driving this budget.....

For the full article, click the link above.  The author of the article reminds us of  Proverbs 14:31.  Paul Ryan and the Republicans need to put down the Ayn Rand books.


>>>>  Sen. Bernie Sanders and other sponsors, including Sen. Sherrod Brown have a proposal to lower gas prices immediately!


Vtdigger:


Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today introduced a bill to make federal regulators invoke emergency powers to rein in speculators responsible for rapidly-rising gasoline prices. 

The legislation would set a 14-day deadline for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to implement rules to stop excessive speculation by Wall Street traders in oil futures markets. Sanders’ bill is cosponsored by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.).

The measure was prompted by gasoline prices that are nearing $4 a gallon and the commission’s refusal to obey a Wall Street reform law that required trading limits to be in place by Jan. 17, 2011.....

According to the article, many believe that speculators have purposely pushed up prices.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Mandel With Ties to Bush Family???

****  Twitter has been alive with lots of posts on Josh Mandel's trip to the Bahamas and his first appearance at a Board of Deposits meeting and his other exploits:



If fraud was being committed against taxpayers of Ohio, y didn't Josh Mandel stop it immediately & not 1.5 yrs later?

It is pretty bad when showing up for work makes headlines. 1st time in 15 months -- Mandel must have broken a record.



Josh Mandel flew to Bahamas to give speech, raise cash from payday lenders. What more do you need to know?

Josh Mandel has been a real slacker as Ohio's Treasurer. I just want to know which members of the Ohio Treasurer's office are doing his work?

Amazing.  Going to a foreign country to get political donations????  Is that even legal???? Why did Mandel wait over a year to make the bank changes if he knew something was wrong?  Why does Mandel continue to get the "PANTS on FIRE" tag on his claims????

* Republican candidate Josh Mandel has been a "special guest" of the Maverick PAC in Houston and New York City.  The Maverick PAC supports Republican candidates, but there are other connections within that PAC that might make someone think twice about supporting their efforts. 

Rollcall:

Motivated by President Barack Obama’s success with younger voters, George P. Bush and a collection of Bush/Cheney alumni have launched Maverick PAC, a political action committee designed to spur activism among young Republican professionals...

...Bush is the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, grandson of President George H.W. Bush and nephew of President George W. Bush. Currently living in
Fort Worth, Texas, and running a private equity firm he helped found, the younger Bush is viewed as the next generation of his family’s political dynasty and a potential candidate for political office in the future.....

....Last week, Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) headlined a fundraiser for the launch of Maverick PAC’s Chicago chapter. Previous Maverick PAC guests have included Donald Rumsfeld, George W. Bush’s first defense secretary, Ari Fleischer, the president’s first press secretary, and Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel (R), who is running for Senate....

Instead of the movie line, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain,"  the Maverick PAC doesn't want you to notice that a Bush family member is behind it. Haven't we had enough of their influence on this country?

One of the Maverick PAC's contributions to the Josh Mandel campaign is listed in the Texas Tribune
Dec 22, 2011 Citizens for Josh Mandel $2,500.00 Contribution to federal candidate...         

Paul Ryan's Plan: "Path to Poverty for America"

* The out of touch, out of ideas, do nothing Republicans are at it again.  The Republicans are going to resurrect the Paul Ryan budget plan.

A diary over at DailyKos says it ever so clearly: 

...We must call the Ryan plan exactly what it is: the Path to Poverty.

It is a Path to Poverty for seniors and it is a Path to Poverty for America.....

....Paul Ryan is proposing a Path to Poverty for America.



Our seniors don't deserve this and neither do we.  The Paul Ryan plan is nothing more than a plan to create confusion and bedlam among the elderly, and it will result in people not getting the medical treatment they need.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Just saying.....

>>>>>  What is going on behind closed doors with the Republicans?
    HuffingtonPost has some of the battles going on between House Republicans. Goody!!!!

*  Some interesting news on Ohio's investments from the PlainDealer:

....Treasurer Josh Mandel will announce today that his office no longer will do business with Bank of New York Mellon and State Street Corp. — banks that hold more than $41 billion in international assets owned by four of Ohio’s five pension funds....

....Today, Mandel’s office will choose new banks to act as custodians of the international assets of four Ohio pension funds. Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase are among the banks that submitted proposals to do the work. The Ohio Highway Patrol Retirement System does not have such international assets..... 

According OpenSecrets, Citigroup contributed to the following Ohio candidates:
Name Office Total Contributions
Boehner, John (R-OH) House       $10,000
Tiberi, Patrick J (R-OH) House        $5,000
Mandel, Josh (R-OH) Senate         $2,000
Portman, Rob (R-OH) Senate         $1,000
Renacci, Jim (R-OH) House         $1,000
Stivers, Steve (R-OH) House         $1,000


What a coincidence!

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Women Need to Vote to Assert Their Power

Why aren't Republicans interested in the voices and opinions of women?  We definitely need more elected women in government, especially Democratic women. With what the Republicans have been offering lately (attacks on the rights of women, curbs on birth control, a reluctance to renew the the Violence Against Women Act, the Limbaugh and far right scandalous words about women, etc.), it is time that women personally take on and make a difference in the upcoming elections.  If you need a reminder of what women can do, watch this powerful YouTube video (as mentioned on The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell):



>>>  The favorite candidate of payday lenders, Josh Mandel, is still reeling from all the negative publicity surrounding his trip for campaign money to the CFSA convention at the Atlantis in the Bahamas.

Mandel's absence from his office is of concern for a majority of Ohio's voters.  Many people are also worried about his lack of vision and knowledge because he opposed the auto bailout.  Doesn't Josh Mandel know that one out of eight Ohioans work for or have jobs that are connected to the American auto industry?  Doesn't he understand how President Obama's courage saved a vital American structure?

You might be interested to know that many people today still remember the ugly campaign that Josh Mandel ran against his Democratic opponent in his last election.

JewishPress:

....In 2010 the OhioDaily obtained a copy of a letter sent to then Republican Treasurer candidate Josh Mandel from Canton, Oh. Rabbi Leah Herz, who scolded the young Mandel for race-bating:
Mr. Mandel, I do not question your heroism, and like all decent Americans I applaud your sacrifices while serving in our military.  As a Rabbi however, I say, “shame, shame” on the way you have behaved.  You are not a Nice Jewish Boy....


Many retirees don't like the fact that Josh Mandel has embraced the Paul Ryan budget plan which seeks to end Social Security and Medicare.

Mandel's Recycled Signs

* Vice President Jo Biden let Ohio autoworkers know that President Barack Obama saved their jobs and the entire American auto industry.

Dispatch:

Vice President Joe Biden, who describes himself as a blue collar guy from gritty Scranton, Pa., appealed to autoworkers here today to give him and President Barack Obama a second term, saying they need more time to complete the economic recovery....

....Biden said the president “didn’t flinch” in deciding to allocate $62 billion in 2009 to bail out Chrysler and General Motors.

“He knew rescuing the industry wasn’t popular,” Biden said. “He knew he was taking a chance. But he believed. He said, ‘We are not going to give up on a million jobs, and the iconic industry America invented. Not without a fight.’ ”

If the country would had followed the advice of Mitt Romney, and always absent Ohio Treasurer, Josh Mandel, Ohio would have lost hundreds of thousands of jobs tied to the industry, the nation would have lost more jobs, and the foundation of American manufacturing ingenuity, the American car.   Thank goodness, President Obama pushed to save the auto industry.

>>>  To demonstrate the ridiculousness of the unending Josh Mandel campaigns, check out the picture below from Plunderbund's Twitpic:

Mandel campaign recycling Treasurer signs with duct tape and ... on Twitpic

I might suggest that Josh Mandel just use erasable pens for his campaign signs and literature so that he can reuse them every single time he plans to run for another office without finishing his term.

*****  The Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate haven't created one job, and so it continues.  Now the GOP is proposing to end Medicare.

NYTimes:

Four conservative Republican senators kicked off a conversation Thursday on changes to Medicare, releasing a proposal that would end the federal fee-for-service insurance program in 2014 and enroll all recipients into the health insurance plan now offered to federal employees....

Yep.  The Republicans are at it again.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

His Plans?

Here are some additional reasons not to vote for Mitt Romney----his plans to destroy the Health Care Law, to get rid of Planned Parenthood, and destroy Amtrak.

The KSDK video was uploaded by BuzzFeed on YouTube:

Monday, March 12, 2012

Kasich Still Trying to Go After Teachers

*  Ohio's Republican Gov. John Kasich is still trying to get back at teachers and those that support public education.  Kasich, one of the most unpopular governors in the country, continues to run counter to what Ohioans want in the state.  That is not stopping Kasich.  He seems to be on a one man crusade to please only the business leaders in the state.

Dispatch:


Gov. John Kasich today “begged” the Ohio Board of Education to support Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson’s plan to overhaul education that could be used as a model in urban school districts across Ohio. “I’m begging you as human beings to not let this go down the drain,” Kasich told the state board at its monthly meeting today in Columbus.

Kasich also previewed some of the education initiatives he intends to include in his mid-biennium review to the state budget which he intends to unveil Wednesday. That includes ending “ social promotion” by requiring schools to provide tutoring or other intervention beginning in kindergarten to students who are behind in reading and not allow them to move on to the fourth grade if they fail the state reading test.....

“Where is the teacher’s voice?” asked Debbie Cain, a board member and retired teacher from Uniontown.

Kasich said teachers should be involved but cautioned that he wasn’t interested in hearing from anyone interested in keeping the status quo....

Really? Once again we see that John Kasich is not interested in anyone that opposes his views.  Kasich despises the public school teachers in Ohio. During the campaign for governor in 2010, Kasich said he wanted to "...break the back of organized labor in schools...."  After his election, Kasich said he wanted the teachers in the state to take our full page newspaper ads to apologize to him for what he says were lies about him.  Anyone that has been awake in Ohio can clearly see that Kasich is still trying to do whatever he can to remove public school teachers from any decision making on how Ohio educates our children. Teachers are the experts, not Kasich's lobbyist friends, campaign contributors, or Kasich's business pals.

Teachers have reached out to Kasich in an effort to open communication, but he has refused.  Those conferences/meetings he has had with teachers have been with only those that have been invited.  I've wondered if only registered Republican teachers were invited (like that teacher in the pro-SB5 ad that also was the chairman of the Fairfield County GOP--Kyle Farmer).

>>>  I hope that you've had the chance to view Doonesbury today.  Doonesbury has always provided a powerful commentary on issues.

*  *  *  The birthers are out again.  This time Republican Rep. Cliff Stearns of Florida has come out with his theories about President Obama's birth certificate.  I am tired of ignorant people like Cliff Stearns!  See the story about Stearns at RawStory.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

You Should Know...

* If you have an opportunity to watch the HBO drama, Game Change, grab it.  Although the storyline provides some of the backroom talk and movements of the McCain-Palin campaign, it is important to note that even if half of this is true, I'm soooooooooooooooo glad they lost. The viewer comes away with the feeling that Sarah Palin was completely ignorant on issues, history, leaders of countries, economic structures, etc., etc., etc.

*  I saw this NY Times article mentioned over at DailyKos.  After you read the article, you too will come to realize that all women, Democrats and Republicans, are completely disgusted with the Republican politicians and elected officials.

NY Times:

....In Iowa, one of the crucial battlegrounds in the coming presidential election, and in other states, dozens of interviews in recent weeks have found that moderate Republican and independent women — one of the most important electoral swing groups — are disenchanted by the Republican focus on social issues like contraception and abortion in an election that, until recently, had been mostly dominated by the economy...

....But in the 2010 midterm election, women swung to the Republicans. Now there are signs of another shift: in a New York Times/CBS News poll last month, the president finished ahead of Mr. Romney among all women by 57 percent to 37 percent. He held much the same advantage over Mr. Santorum.......

....Ms. Lopez added: “The G.O.P. has never been so clear about their agenda for women. I’m afraid if we get a Republican president, my health will be up to their personal discretion.” 

The Republicans are more interested in what happens in your uterus than getting the country back to work.  How is this a move that helps our country?

Friday, March 09, 2012

Why would anyone sign this pledge?

I am concerned.  Why would anyone sign a pledge that would make bigger cuts to Social Security than even the Paul Ryan budget plan?

According to a website called, CutCapandBalanceAct, Ohio Treasurer, and now Republican candidate for Senate, Josh Mandel signed the pledge.


TheMiddleClass website explained what Cut, Cap, and Balance would do:

...Robert Greenstein at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities writes that the legislation "stands out as one of the most ideologically extreme pieces of major budget legislation to come before Congress in years, if not decades." 

This legislation would not only requires a wholesale gutting of domestic spending programs in health care, education, the environment, economic development and aid to those in need, but would chisel into stone the Republican Party's manic opposition to anything that would increase revenues into the federal treasury. As Greenstein put it in his analysis, "an impoverished elderly widow living on Supplemental Security Income — which provides benefits that lift people to just 75 percent of the poverty line — could have her assistance cut back under the measure’s across-the-board budget cuts even as millionaire hedge-fund managers retained their lucrative carried-interest tax breaks."

....The America envisioned under this legislation is an America that does not invest in its future or its people. Its federal government would stand on the sidelines as its public schools crumbled, its universities continued to price themselves beyond the reach of middle-class families, its infrastructure decayed, its research fell behind that of the rest of the industrialized world and its people became increasingly impoverished, in spirit if not financially. It is indeed the most radical transformation of America that the mainstream of the Republican Party has ever put forward—a world where the rich are unfettered in their quest for ever larger shares of wealth and the middle class is officially abandoned. This is a vision of America's future that the American middle-class majority rejects.

Republican Josh Mandel supports this cockamamie plan.

****  Has Josh Mandel come up with his "rescue plan" for the American auto makers?  He is just a few years too late.

Thursday, March 08, 2012

Shocking News

Ohio residents that care about wildlife, conservation, and the environment will be shocked to hear about the latest target for the frackers---- The Wilds.

The Other Paper:

Last September, American Electric Power and Texas drilling company Anadarko Petroleum reached an agreement to allow hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas—the controversial “fracking”—at the Wilds, home to hundreds of rare and endangered animals that’s operated by the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

Five months later, on Feb. 23, the zoo found out about it. From a reporter....

.....So are zoo leaders feeling blindsided and betrayed by AEP, a longtime corporate supporter?

“I don’t think that’s the word I would use,” said zoo president and CEO Dale Schmidt. “But we would have liked to have heard about it sooner.”

I guess we'd better go see The Wilds before the land, water, air, and most importantly, the animals are destroyed.   The Wilds, which has many species, also has accommodations for visitors.

How many animals will die because of the contamination of the environment?

-   -   -   -   -   -   -

* This year, the evidence against Ohio House Rep. Mike Duffey is growing.  Duffey doesn't reflect the opinions and issues of the people in his district.

>  Mike Duffey voted to cut school funding and was a cosponsor of HB 30.  See more information about HB 30 at Project Vote Smart
>  Mike Duffey voted for SB 5, the bill to end collective bargaining in Ohio.
>  Mike Duffey voted for HB 1, the Kasich super secret JobsOhio agency that uses our tax money to reward corporations.
> Letters to the Editor of SNPonline, show that Mike Duffey's effort to get opinions from constituents does not work (see letter #1).
>  Some constituents said that Duffey did not even respond to their letters and phone calls.
>  Duffey seems to have close political ties to Kasich (see photo 1, 2, & article here.).

----->  People everywhere are rejoicing at the news that Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt (OH-2) has lost her primary (USA Today).

_______

***   Following a report on CNBC, Brian Williams on NBC News reported that a company outside of Cincinnati (in Northern Kentucky), MAZAK, has been looking for welders.

MAZAK's openings in Florence, Kentucky:

To apply online, start by clicking on the Job Title of interest below.
Search Results: 7 Job(s) Found
Job Title Location Date Posted
Sales Project Engineer Florence, Kentucky
Full-Time
01/30/2012

Project Manager Florence, Kentucky
Full-Time
01/30/2012

Welder Trainee Florence, Kentucky
Full-Time
01/03/2012

ASSEMBLER Florence, Kentucky
Full-Time
01/03/2012

CNC OD/ID Grinder Operator Florence, Kentucky
Full-Time
01/03/2012

Electrical Inspector Florence, Kentucky
Full-Time
01/03/2012

CNC APPLICATIONS ENGINEER Florence, Kentucky
Full-Time
01/03/2012

This Will Continue

As long as Republicans have control of the House of Representatives and have filibuster power in the Senate, they will continue to set the agenda.  The Republicans under the leadership of Boehner, Cantor, Issa, and Tea Partiers, have spent an incredible amount of time talking about birth control, abortion, reproductive rights, ultrasounds, health care for women, etc., etc., etc.  Are you tired of it yet?

There is a solution.  We can change the agenda from the uterus to job creation, if we elect more Democrats.  Our country can rebuild roads, highways, and bridges, if we stop having congressional hearings on reproductive rights without one female witness being allowed to testify.

Personally, as a woman, I am sick, sick, sick, of these Republicans talking about our reproductive rights!  Across the country, state legislatures have taken up 1,100 pieces of legislation that have to do with a woman's reproductive rights!

Huffington Post:

...In the first part of 2012, the GOP has only accelerated its attacks on abortion and family planning. Virginia Republicans introduced a bill whose original language would have required women to undergo an invasive transvaginal ultrasound procedure 24 hours prior to having an abortion; a modified version of the bill, which requires women to receive transabdominal ultrasounds instead, was signed into law on Wednesday. Congress shocked women's rights groups by pivoting from abortion access to birth control, attempting to overturn President Barack Obama's contraception coverage rule with Sen. Roy Blunt's (R-Mo.) amendment, which would have allowed employers to deny women any kind of health coverage for vague "moral reasons."

And the fight has leaked into the private sector. Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the nation's largest breast cancer charity, tried to pull cancer-screening grants from Planned Parenthood because some of its clinics provide abortions. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chair of the powerful House Oversight Committee, convened a hearing on religious liberty and the contraception rule and refused to allow the Democrats' one female witness, Sandra Fluke, to speak at it. And most recently, prominent conservatives Rush Limbaugh and Foster Friess publicly equated birth control use to sexual promiscuity.

Now, despite the fact that Komen faced a public backlash for its decision to defund Planned Parenthood, the Senate rejected the controversial Blunt amendment and dozens of advertisers have peeled off of Limbaugh's show to protest his comments, the GOP remains focused on legislating women's reproductive choices.....

(Do a Google search for the following words: transvaginal ultrasound governor and see what Republican vice presidential hopeful's face pops up.)

Raw Story is reporting that every Democratic female state senator in Georgia walked out in protest:

...the female Democratic state senators walked out of the Georgia Senate on Wednesday to protest bills put forward by the Republican male majority. 

The demonstration took place after Republicans passed two bills that opponents have said are part of the GOP’s “war on women.” The only female Republican senator did not take part in the protest.

State Senate Bill 438, passed by a vote of 33-18, prevents state health plans from paying for abortions. The measure makes no exception even in cases of rape and incest....

The Salt Lake Tribune has news from the Utah state legislature:

...-> Utah could soon have the longest abortion wait time in the nation, after a bill breezed through the Senate with little debate that would increase the waiting period from 24 to 72 hours. [Trib] [DNews]....

Blog for Arizona has news about the latest insanity in that Republican-controlled state government:

Arizona Republicans are hitting women's rights and workers' wages hard. First is the bill proposing to let secular companies refuse to provide contraception as part of their health insurance packages. The Star has an editorial blasting the bill.....

......Next is the proposed initiative to roll back the minimum wage Arizonans voted into law in 2006 by an almost 2-1 margin. The 2006 initiative assured that minimum wage would keep pace with inflation. The new initiative isn't targeted at unions like so many of the Republican anti-worker bills. It goes after workers who are getting the lowest wage the law allows, most of whom have no representation whatever....

This is what happens when Republicans are in control.  Here in Ohio, Republicans sponsored a heartbeat bill in an effort to end abortions.  If you vote for Republicans, this is what you get----- a war on women, a war on your reproductive freedom, forced transvaginal ultrasound, and oppression of women.

Finally, one elected official is fighting back. State Sen. Nina Turner has introduced a bill into the Ohio legislature that protect men from the harmful side effects of male enhancement drugs.

Plunderbund:

An important piece of legislation was introduced in the Ohio State Senate yesterday. It seems that in all the fuss to protect women from making poor decisions about their bodies, we forgot about the men. But Senator Nina Turner didn’t forget.....

Senate Bill 307 protects men by requiring the following prior to receiving a prescription to treatment for erectile dysfunction:
  • a signed affadavit from at least one sex partner confirming the man has indeed experienced the symptoms of impotence in the past 90 days
  • a psychological screening to ensure the condition is, in fact, medical in nature
  • ongoing cardiac stress tests and outpatient counseling about potential side effects
  • information from the prescribing physician about risks, complications as well as non-medical options including counseling and celibacy
  • copy of medical rationale for treatment filed in patient’s medical record....
Thank you, Sen. Turner!

Think about this----- If a Republican had been in the White House, and the Blunt Amendment would have passed in the Senate, the Blunt Amendment would have become law.


Yes, this "war on women" with help from Limbaugh will continue, unless we vote the Republican bullies out of office. Vote for jobs.  Vote for Democrats.

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Somebody Doesn't Like Smart Women

Somebody doesn't like women that are more educated than he is. 

Raw Story:

Following “sincerely” apologizing for calling a Georgetown University student a “slut,” conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh on Tuesday complained about “overeducated” single white women.

“What is it with all these young, single, white women? Overeducated doesn’t mean intelligent,” he ranted, going on to talk about journalist Tracie McMillian’s book.....


Also from  Raw Story:

Listen to this audio from The Rush Limbaugh Show, broadcast March 6, 2012 and uploaded by Think Progress.




 Here are some real facts from the U.S. Census Bureau:


....157.2 million

The number of females in the United States as of Oct. 1, 2010. The number of males was 153.2 million. Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/2009-nat-res.html>

 

 ...29.9 million

Number of women 25 and older with a bachelor's degree or more education in 2009, higher than the corresponding number for men (28.7 million). Women had a larger share of high school diplomas, as well as associate, bachelor's and master's degrees. More men than women had a professional or doctoral degree.Source: Educational Attainment in the United States: 2009 <http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/education/cb10-55.html> or <http://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/education/>


That bully on the radio sounds afraid of smart, educated women. It is time for women to flex our muscles and use our power to vote out and shut off those men that wish us harm and degrade our work, accomplishments, education, and our belief that we alone are entitled to decide our own reproductive rights. 

Here is a quote from Bella Abzug, posted at Womenshistory:

• Women have been trained to speak softly and carry a lipstick. Those days are over.


Monday, March 05, 2012

Republican Elected Official Shirking Duties

>>>>>  Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, a candidate for the Senate, appears to be avoiding his duties as the state treasurer.  With Mandel missing 14 meetings of the State Board of Deposits, people are wondering how he continues to boldly skip the meetings that previous treasurers have attended.  Does Mandel think he is too important to fulfill the duties of his office? It is obvious that he often is out of the office in order to attend his own campaign events.  Today, he was scheduled to have breakfast in New York City as a guest of the Maverick PAC.  Yet Mandel thinks he is ready to move into the U.S. Senate.  If Josh Mandel cannot complete the duties of his current office, how can he move to a higher office?

There are other people worried about Josh Mandel's lack of honesty and his unwillingness to share his opinions.  On several occasions, his staff has prevented him from answering questions.  He has been vague on his responses to some questions or he just repeats his talking points.  In an article published in the Youngstown Vindicator, Josh Mandel "...said he is developing a plan to “rescue the auto industry.”  Really. You almost wonder if he doesn't follow the news and is unaware of what is happening.

A post over at TheTeaPartyisDead, has a few more of the misgivings that some people are having about Josh Mandel:

...Josh Mandel’s campaign is running on Mandel’s story and not any issues. The voters of Ohio need to ask why. If you go to Mandel’s issues page, you will only see one or two very small paragraphs about where he stands on a few issues which barely cover what a U.S. Senator will be dealing with if he elected to the Senate. Mandel does not have a public position on the NDAA, SOPA, PIPA, civil liberties, the auto bailouts, etc., and was also the only Republican candidate who did not participate in the Numbers USA Survey....

Mandel's list of gaffes and missteps should be used as a guide for future candidates. Luckily, AmericanBridgePAC has a few of Mandel's "unfortunate events"-------

  • Mandel “Aggressively Worked” Fundraising And Speaking Tours As State Treasurer While Office Schedule Was Neglected. [AP, 1/14/12]
  • Mandel’s First Senate Campaign Flight Occurred Less Than One Month After Taking Office As State Treasurer[AP, 1/14/12]
  • February 2012: Mandel Skipped 14th Consecutive Board Of Deposit Meeting, Still Failed To Attend A Single Meeting Since Taking Office. [Columbus Dispatch, 2/23/12]
  • Mandel Disclosed His Personal Finances 177 Days Late. [Cleveland Plain Dealer, 11/4/11; Mandel Personal Financial Disclosure]
  • Mandel Released Official Schedules, Did Not Include Out-Of-State Fundraising Trips. [Cleveland Plain Dealer, 1/20/12]
  • Mandel Attack On Sherrod Brown Rated “Pants On Fire” By PolitiFact. [PolitiFact Ohio, 11/18/11]...
If you are interested in other views on Josh Mandel, you can check out the following posts:
The New Political: Mandel Controversy Continues

TPM:  Josh Mandel's Favorability (poll by Quinnipiac)

Let me also remind Ohio voters------  Josh Mandel supported SB 5.

Kasich has turned down federal aid?????

Ohio was among several states that suffered from an onslaught of tornadoes in the midwest over the last week.  The area has been devastated, homes destroyed, and people have died.

Cincinnati:

Ohio officials Sunday defended the decision by Gov. John Kasich to not request federal disaster aid for Ohio towns ravaged by tornadoes Friday.

In a statement, Kasich’s press secretary, Rob Nichols, said that local and state agencies appear to be able to take care of the cleanup in hard-hit areas, such as Moscow and Bethel. But if the damage turns out to be worse than it appears, or if additional storms strike, Kasich reserves the right to ask the federal government for personnel or equipment, the statement said......

.....FEMA has already deployed some workers to Kentucky and Indiana. For example, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear announced Sunday night that FEMA assessment teams are in Northern Kentucky and will begin making damage estimates on Monday. He said this will allow for several kinds of federal assistance – including help for local governments, for small businesses and for individuals.....

An Ohio resident voiced opposition to Kasich's decision at Daily Kos:

You'd think we would've stopped being surprised by the sociopathic mindset of the teabag-waving element of the GOP, but every so often somebody like Ohio's John Kasich reminds us how much lower it's possible to sink......

.......One county to the east of Cincinnati, the town of Moscow in Clermont County was nearly wiped off the map. A normal governor with a minimal shred of competence or compassion would immediately declare the county a disaster area, and coordinate with FEMA and other federal agencies on the recovery. Governor Mitch Daniels in neighboring Indiana -- hardly a flaming liberal -- has declared 11 Indiana counties to be disaster areas, clearing the way for federal help. Across the river in Kentucky, Gov. Steve Beshear has similarly declared a statewide emergency......

......Unbelievable. An entire Ohio town has been wiped off the map, but Gov. Kasich refuses to declare Clermont County area a disaster area, because that would make it eligible for federal help......

Newsnet5 has a collection of pictures online.  There are also a number of videos that have been uploaded to YouTube.

By not getting federal help, homeowners will not qualify for special assistance and loans.  You can contact Gov. John Kasich's office here.  If you have access to a digital camera, take pictures and email them to your local TV stations and national networks to let them see what Kasich is overlooking.

Sunday, March 04, 2012

Duh!

* Ohio Treasurer of almost 15 months, Josh Mandel, is now an "announced" candidate for U.S. Senate, even though he started running for the Senate since early February 2011. According to an article in the Youngstown Vindicator, Mandel  "....said he is developing a plan to “rescue the auto industry.”

When asked about the $82 billion government bailout of General Motors and Chrysler in 2009, Mandel said in a Thursday call to The Vindicator, “Our economy has not yet been rescued. So many people are still out of work.”

GM earned its largest profit ever in 2011, two years after the bailout. GM, with a complex in Lordstown that builds the Chevrolet Cruze, made a $7.6 billion profit last year. It received $49.5 billion of the bailout money....."

People are wondering what the heck he is talking about with his statement.  As one tweet that was posted at TPEconomy noted------
TPEconomy Ohio's GOP senate candidate loved the
 auto rescue so much, he wants to do it all over


Does Mandel want to use federal money to fix something that is already fixed?  Does he even understand how President Obama got the auto companies the money and got the money back?

>>> An article at the Washington Post, had this about Republican Josh Mandel that might be of concern to Ohio women:

...in Ohio, where GOP candidate Josh Mandel has supported the “heartbeat” bill, which bans abortions once the heartbeat can be detected, and in Nevada, where Senator Dean Heller has taken heat for voting to defund Planned Parenthood.....

Oh, really?

>>>>  Does Josh Mandel know how to answer a question?
YouTube (NBC4i)



His "office" has a perfect attendance, but he doesn't!!!!!!
Duh!!!

Friday, March 02, 2012

Ignorance

It appears that some Republicans have been exposed to a pandemic of ignorance.  They worship at the altar of that right wing large radio personality and they refuse to condemn his inappropriate, outlandish, hurtful, sexist, degrading comments. 

Do you know why women use birth control pills?  Women are prescribed birth control and hormonal pills for various medical conditions. Here are a few reasons listed at WebMD:

...Lower cancer risk...

...Endometriosis relief...

...Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) relief...


Every woman should be reminded that the young woman that is being brutally attacked by that radio personality could be your daughter, your sister, your niece, or your friend.  Would you put up with him disparaging her?

You Should Know....

John Boehner and his Republicans plan to keep waging the war against women.

NY Times:

The battle over whether to allow employers and health insurance companies to opt out of contraception coverage for reasons of religion or conscience may be over in the Senate, but House Speaker John A. Boehner signaled on Thursday that House Republicans would continue the fight....

...Democrats say Republicans, by picking a fight over contraception, had alienated women and political independents. The House Democratic leader, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, called the measure “devastating legislation” in a statement Thursday.

“It’s just the latest ploy in the Republican agenda of disrespecting the health of American women,” she said....

In my humble opinion, the Republican agenda against contraceptives, having insurance pay for cancer screenings, and providing women with health coverage isn't about religious freedom.  The Republicans want to

(1)  oppose anything that allows women to make decisions on their own.
(2)  oppose anything that President Obama has proposed and instituted.
(3)  oppose anything that would help women financially and stand independently.
(4)  oppose any programs that create jobs, help schools, support the elderly.
(5)  waste valuable legislative time on cultural issues instead of getting people back to work.

If American women vote for conservative Republican candidates, we will continue to see these attacks on women's health issues. 

American women have already decided about their contraceptive wants and needs.  The last thing we need is some Republican male elected official coming between us and our physician.

Where are the jobs, John Boehner?  If the Republicans would have supported the President's plan on fixing bridges, roads, and infrastructure, there would be millions of jobs now.  Boehner & company would rather destroy the country, throw out your chance to get health coverage for routine female exams and screenings, than support President Obama's job plans.

Thursday, March 01, 2012

Debunking GOP Talking Points

You know how Republicans say that President Obama has decreased our drilling.  They're wrong!  WRONG!  The U.S.A. is now exporting oil.

Chris Hayes of MSNBC found this little graph at the Energy Information Agency that shows the truth---(Rachel Maddow mentioned it.):



The Right is Wrong

* Though Karl Rove might have selective memory, he has forgotten that President George W. Bush had to issue an apology in 2008 (see WashingtonExaminer).

*  Oh.  According to several news reports, Republican Josh Mandel announced his intent to run for the Senate (see Cleveland).  Gee.  I thought everyone already knew that he was running for the Senate since he has hardly been at his job as Ohio Treasurer and has traveled from one end of the country to the other collecting campaign contributions.  The guy has been running for the Senate since a few weeks after he took office as Ohio Treasurer!!!!!  Why waste people's time with an uncessary announcement?

*  Did you know that Republican Rep. Steve Stivers (OH-15th) voted to defund Planned Parenthood?  Steve Stivers is another Republican who has gotten involved in a woman's private business.  The Big OH Blog:

...During his tenure as a state senator, Steve Stivers (R-Columbus) was a moderate Republican who expressed support for the preventive health care services offered by Planned Parenthood. As a newly-elected member of the U.S. Congress, one of his first votes was to defund Planned Parenthood (Feb. 18, 2011). Congressman Stivers claims to understand the important preventive health care services that Planned Parenthood provides to an uninsured and underinsured population; but, has he turned his back on the women and teens who rely on Planned Parenthood for birth control, annual exams, and life-saving cancer screenings?...

Amazing. Republicans want to do all they can to stop poor women from having health screenings. A recent article in the Plain Dealer shows that nearly 100,000 poor women in Ohio go to Planned Parenthood because they provide  ".... lifesaving services such as cancer screenings, breast exams, birth control, sex education and counseling...."  Do Republicans like Stivers just want poor women to die?