Bravo, Rep. Keith Ellison! Bravo!

Rep. Keith Ellison spoke the truth recently to Faux News mouth piece, Sean Hannity.

HuffingtonPost:

Sean Hannity got an earful from Democratic congressman Keith Ellison on his Tuesday show. Ellison exploded at the Fox News host, calling him "the worst excuse for a journalist I've ever seen."

What made Ellison so angry was a short series of clips of President Obama that Hannity ran just before bringing him on. The clips, which showed Obama talking about the looming budget sequester, were scored to the famously apocalyptic "Carmina Burana." Hannity said Obama was guilty of fearmongering when he talked about the potential effects of the cuts the sequester would impose....

....Things did not get friendlier from there. Ellison also called Hannity a "shill for the Republican party," an "immoral" man, and said he was violating "every journalistic ethic" in the book. Eventually, Hannity cut the interview short, saying it was a "waste of time" to continue.

If you want to see the video, visit this HuffPost link. Sean Hannity and the entire Faux News group are nothing more than an extension of the Republican Party's propaganda machine.

>>>> Here some interesting news from Business First:

Ohio’s most influential group of attorneys is ready to fight Gov. John Kasich’s plan to extend the state sales tax to legal services.

The Ohio State Bar Association’s Board of Governors decided Tuesday to oppose the proposal and states its case to the General Assembly, which is considering Kasich’s two-year budget blueprint.

As we’ve reported, the governor wants to lower the state sales tax to 5 percent from 5.5 percent but extend the tax to dozens of professional and consumer services that are exempt from paying it.....

Yep! Gov. John Kasich, AKA Taxin' John, wants to tax real estate transactions, accountant services, day care bills, and pretty much everything else. Ohioans should get ready to be inundated with sales taxes on everything if his plan passes.


**** There is more evidence that Kasich has also cut money to local governments.
CityBeat:

A new Policy Matters Ohio report found local government funding has been reduced by $1.4 billion since Gov. John Kasich took office, leading to a nearly 50-percent reduction in state funding.

The report found local government funding dropped from nearly $3 billion in the 2010 and 2011 fiscal years — the years budgeted by former Gov. Ted Strickland — to about $2.2 billion in the 2012 and 2013 fiscal years — the first two years budgeted by Kasich. The governor’s most recent budget proposal would ensure the continuation of the downward slide, with local government funding dropping down to slightly more than $1.5 billion in the 2014 and 2015 fiscal years, according to the report....

John Kasich could not win with SB5/Issue 2, but he is still weakening our local services, and causing the layoffs of our first responders.

In the news....

*** One of Gov. John Kasich's favorite legislators, State Rep. Mike Duffey, is looking for some feedback from his constituents. Duffey, a Republican, was criticized in the last election for his failure to respond to his constituents, now wants to hear from those in his district. ThisWeekCommunityNews has this link to his "survey"-

State Rep. Mike Duffey (R-Worthington) has set up an online survey for constituents to provide their opinions about Gov. John Kasich's state budget proposal.
Recently, Gov. Kasich released his proposed state budget for the 2014-15 fiscal years.
- See more at: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/worthington/news/2013/02/27/duffey-seeks-residents-input-on-kasich-budget-plan.html#sthash.M6D2y2Xf.dpuf

State Rep. Mike Duffey (R-Worthington) has set up an online survey for constituents to provide their opinions about Gov. John Kasich's state budget proposal.
Recently, Gov. Kasich released his proposed state budget for the 2014-15 fiscal years.
- See more at: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/worthington/news/2013/02/27/duffey-seeks-residents-input-on-kasich-budget-plan.html#sthash.M6D2y2Xf.dpuf

State Rep. Mike Duffey (R-Worthington) has set up an online survey for constituents to provide their opinions about Gov. John Kasich's state budget proposal.
Recently, Gov. Kasich released his proposed state budget for the 2014-15 fiscal years.
- See more at: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/worthington/news/2013/02/27/duffey-seeks-residents-input-on-kasich-budget-plan.html#sthash.M6D2y2Xf.dpuf

State Rep. Mike Duffey (R-Worthington) has set up an online survey for constituents to provide their opinions about Gov. John Kasich's state budget proposal.
Recently, Gov. Kasich released his proposed state budget for the 2014-15 fiscal years.
- See more at: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/worthington/news/2013/02/27/duffey-seeks-residents-input-on-kasich-budget-plan.html#sthash.M6D2y2Xf.dpuf

State Rep. Mike Duffey (R-Worthington) has set up an online survey for constituents to provide their opinions about Gov. John Kasich's state budget proposal.
Recently, Gov. Kasich released his proposed state budget for the 2014-15 fiscal years.
- See more at: http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/worthington/news/2013/02/27/duffey-seeks-residents-input-on-kasich-budget-plan.html#sthash.M6D2y2Xf.dpuf

tinyurl.com/DuffeyBudgetSurvey#sthash.M6D2y2Xf.dpuf

           tinyurl.com/DuffeyBudgetSurvey  or  contact Mike Duffey at:                  

Mike Duffey (R)
District 21

77 S. High St
13th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 644-6030
Email Representative Duffey

Teachers may want to address Gov. Kasich's plan to do away with minimum salaries for teachers.

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

* While most Republicans and John Boehner have supported sequestration, Ohio people and businesses will see the results of Boehner's plans---

According to the MedinaGazette, as many as 13,000 civilian employees that work at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base could be furloughed. That could be devastating to employees, their families, and businesses near the base.

***

Up to 13,000 civilian employees at Ohio’s largest military installation could face furloughs if defense spending cuts kick in as scheduled March 1 and that has business owners and public officials in surrounding communities worried about their bottom lines.
Scheduled cuts in defense spending — part of the so-called sequester that’s subject of a standoff between Democrats and Republicans in Washington — could have a significant effect on the communities around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Congress this week he may have to furlough civilian workers if the cuts aren’t averted.
- See more at: http://medinagazette.northcoastnow.com/2013/02/22/ohio-businesses-nervously-await-furloughs-at-base/#sthash.J3aF2VJx.dpu

Up to 13,000 civilian employees at Ohio’s largest military installation could face furloughs if defense spending cuts kick in as scheduled March 1 and that has business owners and public officials in surrounding communities worried about their bottom lines.
Scheduled cuts in defense spending — part of the so-called sequester that’s subject of a standoff between Democrats and Republicans in Washington — could have a significant effect on the communities around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Congress this week he may have to furlough civilian workers if the cuts aren’t averted.
- See more at: http://medinagazette.northcoastnow.com/2013/02/22/ohio-businesses-nervously-await-furloughs-at-base/#sthash.J3aF2VJx.dpuf

Up to 13,000 civilian employees at Ohio’s largest military installation could face furloughs if defense spending cuts kick in as scheduled March 1 and that has business owners and public officials in surrounding communities worried about their bottom lines.
Scheduled cuts in defense spending — part of the so-called sequester that’s subject of a standoff between Democrats and Republicans in Washington — could have a significant effect on the communities around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Congress this week he may have to furlough civilian workers if the cuts aren’t averted.
- See more at: http://medinagazette.northcoastnow.com/2013/02/22/ohio-businesses-nervously-await-furloughs-at-base/#sthash.J3aF2VJx.dpuf

Up to 13,000 civilian employees at Ohio’s largest military installation could face furloughs if defense spending cuts kick in as scheduled March 1 and that has business owners and public officials in surrounding communities worried about their bottom lines.
Scheduled cuts in defense spending — part of the so-called sequester that’s subject of a standoff between Democrats and Republicans in Washington — could have a significant effect on the communities around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told Congress this week he may have to furlough civilian workers if the cuts aren’t averted.
- See more at: http://medinagazette.northcoastnow.com/2013/02/22/ohio-businesses-nervously-await-furloughs-at-base/#sthash.J3aF2VJx.dpuf

* The federal government has gone after some businesses in Ohio.
BusinessWeek:

Federal labor officials say the operators of two Mexican groceries in Ohio and a small chain of restaurants in the Columbus area have been fined and have agreed to pay back wages to more than 250 employees.

The U.S. Labor Department says the businesses failed to pay employees enough for the hours they worked and for overtime.

They are Los Tres Amigos Supermarket in Cincinnati, La Plaza Tapatia Supermarket in Columbus and three Jalapenos Mexican Restaurants in the Columbus area.....

This kind of behavior on the part of businesses is not only against the law, but also immoral. Why do some people refuse to honor and respect the right of workers?

Bad Numbers

I saw this over at HuffPost---the new Pew Research Poll:

At a time when the Republican Party’s image is at a historic low, 62% of the public says the GOP is out of touch with the American people, 56% think it is not open to change and 52% say the party is too extreme.

Opinions about the Democratic Party are mixed, but the party is viewed more positively than the GOP in every dimension tested except one. Somewhat more say the Republican Party than the Democratic Party has strong principles (63% vs. 57%).....

The old white guys of the Republican Party haven't been able to understand that their views on women, immigrants, college students, Social Security, minorities, the middle class, and the poor, are clearly tied to some ancient, Neanderthal beliefs.

>>> With a dwindling inventory of houses for sale, housing prices are going up, and people are anxiously shopping for homes, according to NBC News.

Save the Corporate Jet Tax Cut???

* Americans should be very upset with the looming sequester cuts because the Republicans continue to defend the tax loopholes for their very rich buddies.

ThinkProgress shines a spotlight on the Republican defenders of the rich and their protected corporate jet tax loophole. Here is a little slice of  Think Progress on the topic:

....not only are Rubio, Crapo and the rest defending a tax loophole for the most fortunate Americans, they’re completely misunderstanding it. As hard as it to believe, the private jet tax break is no “metaphor” or “code” for people making too much money — it is an actual loophole in the tax code that applies to private jets and not commercial ones. The provision, created in 1987, allows corporate jets to be depreciated over a five-year period rather than the seven-year period required for commercial ones. It has been defended and supported by Republicans since.

The more sophisticated conservative defense of special tax breaks private corporate jets, advanced by the Hertiage Foundation, among others, is that it was created by the stimulus package. As ThinkProgress’ Matt Yglesias explained, this myth too is bunk. 

While closing the loophole wouldn’t raise enough money to solve the deficit problem by any means, it points to the absurdity of much of the spending in the tax code and would surely be a step in the right direction. The conservative response to ending it, meanwhile, speaks to the priorities of their tax cut “theology” — fewer taxes for the wealthy above all else. 

You can practically hear Marco Rubio, and the rest of the Republicans shouting, "Save the rich! Protect their tax cuts for their corporate jets!!!" 

Shame on the Republicans for their unending support for this ridiculous tax cut.

Calling All Lawyers

It appears that lawyers in Ohio might have several new cases to pick up if the article and the comments are true. The Dispatch is reporting that a woman has filed suit against her former employer. The lawsuit was filed because her employer, allegedly, fired her for voting for the re-election of President Obama.

Dispatch:

...Patricia Kunkle’s lawsuit accuses Dayton-based defense contractor Q-Mark Inc. and its president of telling employees that if Obama was re-elected, then his supporters would be the first to be fired, The Dayton Daily News reported.
Brian Wildermuth, an attorney for the company president, said in a statement that Kunkle was laid off for economic reasons — “nothing more.”


....The lawsuit, filed in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court on Feb. 14, seeks a minimum of $25,000. It says that Kunkle’s vote came up in conversation on Nov. 7, the day after the election, and that she was fired Nov. 9. The suit claims that the company’s president and owner, Roberta Gentile, said the firing was in the “best interest of the company.” 

What would happen if Q-Mark Inc. lost their contracts because of job discrimination?

Moms and Dads!

FreedomWorks has employment and internships open every summer. However, if your son or daughter comes home to tell you about an internship they've landed with FreedomWorks, you might want to have a serious talk with them.

RawStory:

The controversial conservative super PAC FreedomWorks created a promotional video that depicted former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton having oral sex with a woman in a giant panda suit, according to a report published on Thursday. 

Former FreedomWorks officials told Mother Jones‘ David Corn that an internal investigation was focusing on the group’s president, Matt Kibbe, and a possible area of inquiry was the video in question....

.....FreedomWorks tasked two female interns with the roles of Hillary Clinton and the giant panda. The panda suit was an “inside joke” used at rallies to mock Democrats for pandering to special interests......

Parents---
 There are plenty of other sources for this story. Just Google "FreedomWorks Panda" and you'll be shocked.  The last thing your son or daughter needs is a starring role in a politically-slanted sex tape.

*****

Gov. John Kasich's budget for Ohio schools has grabbed the attention of people in Texas, and it isn't very pretty.

The Houston Chronicle:

Questions remained Wednesday about Gov. John Kasich's new school funding plan, with critics charging that many public schools, including in poor districts, will be shortchanged even though the Republican insisted his proposal was focused on helping students....

.....some Democratic officials and education leaders have questioned Kasich's description, saying it doesn't offset earlier cuts to schools and it leaves most schools, including many poor districts, without additional dollars. They also question the plan's increased support for charter schools and expansion of private-school vouchers.

"The governor says he is increasing funding for education, but that's an empty promise," Ohio Education Association President Patricia Frost-Brooks said in a statement.

John Kasich can't even keep promises to Ohio's school children. Ohio taxpayers are preparing for many future school levies on their election ballots, while they worry that their children will suffer under the Kasich school budget cuts.

Stand Against Kasich

*** Ohio's working men and women must realize that if Gov. Kasich's budget passes, they'll be paying higher taxes. The middle class home owner will also be hit with more school levies and cuts to local schools. We must stand in opposition to Kasich and anyone that supports his insane budget.

> Republican Treasurer Josh Mandel has refused to just go back to work and do his job. Now he is standing in opposition to the health care law expansion in Ohio.  Mandel needs to be retired after his term. We've had enough of his self-promotion and superficial, Tea Party Republican talking points.

***  The Republicans has already dismissed President Obama's ideas on immigration reform. Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said that the plan was "dead on arrival" (see TheHill).  There are some who've said that Rubio's plan is close to the same one from the President's desk. Rubio and his Republican obstructionists are continuing to be against anything that comes out of the White House. Adding this to their other lack of bipartisanship, you begin to wonder if there is something more that the Republicans are against. The Republicans might be showing some of their prejudice.

Speaking of Rubio.....
I particularly loved both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's reaction to Rubio's water drinking incident.

Kasich Prison Privatization Problems

Other people have noticed the massive prison privatization failure that had been promoted by Gov. John Kasich.

CentralFloridaFuture (University of Central Florida):

When Corrections Corporation of America spent $72.7 million for one of Ohio’s facilities, Gov. John Kasich thought this would serve as a model for other states stuck in a financial slump. However, it seems that Kasich’s privatization solution has only worsened conditions inside and outside of the barbed wire.

Shortly after becoming the first state prison in the country to be sold to the private company CCA in 2011, Lake Erie Correctional Institution has failed to meet several standards. The most shocking being denial of medical care to prisoners. Among the other infractions were delayed doctor appointments, negligence of those requesting nurse visitations and the inability to accommodate inmates with conditions such as diabetes and AIDS.

Other violations included those as fundamental as running water, working toilets and proper beds. Some inmates were even found using plastic containers and bags as improvised toilets. Without enough beds to go around, prisoners were triple bunked and forced to sleep on mattresses on the prison floor.....

The article reveals even more of the failures at the prison and shows that privatization is risky for the community, families of prison guards, inmates, and everyone except the corporations.

SOTUS

* President Obama's State of the Union Speech was inspiring. I loved his proposals on education, gun violence, the minimum wage, jobs, and other important issues. Yeah!

>>> Sen. Marco Rubio's speech last night was pathetic. He was just another Republican repeating the same talking points we've heard again and again. I just can't get over that awkward drink of water in the middle of his speech.



*** Ohio's legislators and school leaders across the state have become aware of the fact that Gov. John Kasich's budget does nothing to help Ohio's schools. Kasich's speech was pure b.s. and there is no substance behind his promises.

The Plain Dealer has more on Kasich's plan for our schools.

Oh!

Do you remember Republican Joe Walsh and his far right tea party Republican loud mouth rants? He is in the news again. (h/t DailyKos)

TalkingPointsMemo:

Former Rep. and Tea Party darling Joe Walsh has filed a request in Cook County Circuit Court to cease paying child support payments because he is no longer employed, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on Monday:

In a Feb. 1 court filing entitled “motion to terminate child support obligation,” Walsh’s attorneys asked to change his support requirement, which under a previous agreement, was to continue until May.

“Joe’s employment has been terminated through no voluntary act of his own and he is without sufficient income or assets with which to continue to pay his support obligation,” the filing states. “Due to substantial change of circumstances, Joe requests that his child support obligation be terminated based on his present income and circumstances.”
.......


Joe Walsh is despicable.

The Republican Way

* School districts across Ohio are upset about Gov. John Kasich's school funding budget. It appears that poorer districts get nothing additional, while wealthy school districts get more.

AthensNews:

After experiencing deep cuts the past two years, Athens County school districts can expect no new money from the state for the next two years under Ohio Gov. John Kasich's education proposal that he rolled out earlier this month.

District-by-district figures were released Wednesday showing all five districts in Athens County flat-funded for 2014 and 2015. This after districts saw cuts in the millions of dollars in Kasich's first biennial budget, leading to the closure of Chauncey Elementary School and levy requests from several local districts.....

....All told, 368 districts across the state will get no additional funding over the next two years, including every district in 12 low-income Appalachian counties, according to the administration's numbers....
  
Ohioans are tallying up the reasons why Kasich should not be re-elected, and his disastrous attacks on public school funding will be added to the list.


* There are a number of people planning to attend the State School Board meeting tomorrow morning, Monday, to demand the resignation of Debe Terhar. Terhar was the Kasich appointee that compared President Obama to Hitler (see InnovationOhio for details).

* Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC ) has had some harsh words recently. Then again, Sen. Lindsey Graham doesn't seem to like anything President Obama does.  Now Lindsey Graham has issued a threat.

Slate:

Sen. Lindsey Graham says he plans to block President Obama’s nominees to head up the Department of Defense and the CIA until the White House releases more information about what happened on the night of the September attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. The South Carolina Republican says he won’t filibuster but he will try to put a hold on Chuck Hagel, the Defense nominee, and John Brennan, Obama’s choice to lead the CIA. Graham defended his stance saying that then-Sen. Joe Biden also asked for more information before a 2005 vote to confirm a nominee. “No confirmation without information," Graham said on CBS News....


Lindsey Graham's assault on United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice was viewed by many as racist, sexist, and unfair. Is Lindsey Graham willing to hold up important nominations just to satisfy his own prejudice and ego?

Getting Noticed

What do you know!  Gov. John Kasich's new budget has been noticed by others, including  DailyKos:

Ohio's Gov. John Kasich must be trying to earn back his extremist stripes after his decision to accept Obamacare's Medicaid expansion. He helped out Ohio's lower and moderate income folks with that, only to screw them with higher taxes—higher taxes that will pay for a tax break for wealthy.

The proposal would provide a $10,369 annual tax cut on average to taxpayers in the top 1 percent of the income spectrum, who made more than $335,000 in 2012. The bottom fifth of taxpayers, making less than $18,000 a year, would see an average increase of $63. Those in the middle fifth, making between $33,000 and $51,000 in 2012, would come out about even, averaging an annual tax increase of $8.

The plan includes an income tax cut for those at the top, along with extending the sales tax to services that aren't explicitly exempt. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy [ITEP] analyzed the plan for for Policy Matters Ohio, and estimates that the "top 1 percent on average will pay $781 more a year, while middle-income Ohioans will pay $165 and low-income residents, $71." But that $71 for low-income residents is a much larger share of their income.
John Kasich was hoping that you wouldn't notice that he is giving bigger tax cuts to the people who don't need it---the wealthy. With his planned sales tax on services provide by accountants, lawyers, and even downloaded books, Ohioans will find themselves paying more taxes on everything.

* School districts are also becoming aware of Kasich's lack of honesty when he introduced his budget plan for education. More that half of the school district in Ohio will not an increase in state funding.

Logan Daily News:


If Gov. John Kasich’s plan for the biannual budget is approved, the Logan-Hocking School District will not receive additional funding for Fiscal Year 2014 or 2015, but will match their totals from FY 2013. This could leave the LHSD to face a deficit of $1.1 million for FY 2015 under the most recent financial analysis conducted by LHSD Treasurer Paul Shaw.

If approved in its current form, the LHSD will be receiving $18,014,155 in funding from the state for each FY 2014 and FY 2015, which is the same amount received in FY 2013.

Shaw said he was disappointed with the news, and noted that of all the school districts in 12 Appalachian counties — including Hocking County — none will receive a funding increase under Kasich’s proposed budget....

The poorer districts are excluded from additional funding.  Looks like Kasich is waging war on the poor.

Money Saved for Seniors

****  Even though the Republicans spoke against it, President Obama has saved seniors millions of dollars in prescription drug costs.  USA Today:

Seniors have saved about $5.7 billion on prescription drugs since January 2011 because of provisions in the 2010 health care law meant to close the Medicare "doughnut hole," the government plans to announce today. 

"This discount has led more people to be able to afford their medication, which keeps them healthier and can help bring down costs in the long run," said Jon Blum, director of the Center for Medicare, part of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

In 2012, seniors saved $2.5 billion on prescriptions, compared to $2.3 billion in 2011, according to a new report from the Department of Health and Human Services. That's an average of $706 per person in 2012.

And 34.1 million Medicare beneficiaries used preventive services provided with no deductibles or co-pays in 2012.... 

President Obama should be thanked! 

-----------

> If you live in Ohio, you already know that the Republicans in the state like to make it as difficult as possible for people to vote---especially if those people are minorities, young people, women, and Democrats.  Pewstates has more:

3.6%  Provisional Ballots Cast

0.7%  Provisional Ballots Rejected

1  Voting Information Look-Up Tools Available

Overview
Overall EPI Average:
• 2008—60%
• 2010—64%

Chief Election Official: secretary of state
Absentee Voting: No-excuse—allows any registered voter to request an absentee ballot without providing a reason

In-person Early Voting: Allowed

Notable Indicators
2008
• High rates of provisional ballots cast and rejected
• High rate of absentee ballots rejected
• Low rate of military and overseas ballots unreturned

2010
• High rates of provisional ballots cast and rejected
• High rate of absentee ballots rejected
• Added post-election audit requirement

Dumping in Ohio???

*** The drilling going on in Ohio has taken an ugly turn.

WFMJ:

A Valley lawmaker is demanding answers to important questions, after tens of thousands of gallons of oil and oilfield waste are dumped into a storm drain. Waste that has now found its way into the Mahoning River.

On Monday, the EPA and Ohio Department of Natural Resources continued directing the containment and clean-up. 

State Representative Bob Hagan says it's now estimated that up to 40,000 gallons of oil and oilfield waste has been dumped into a storm drain at 2761 Salt Springs Road. Property owned by D&L Energy.....

There is no going back from this. You cannot collect all the material that was dumped. You just have to wonder how much of this happened before and will occur in the future.

Background Checks

* President Obama has been continuing his campaign on background checks for gun ownership. Today, the President was in Minnesota.

NY Times:

President Obama traveled to the nation’s heartland to press his case for tougher gun laws on Monday, even as evidence mounted in Washington that expanded background checks on gun sales may emerge as a legislative compromise in the bitterly divisive cultural debate. 

In a city once called “Murder-apolis” because of its homicide rate in the 1990s, the president cited its successful gun violence prevention efforts as evidence that new national laws are needed to reduce the number of shootings across the country. 

“The only way we can reduce gun violence in this country is if the American people decide it’s important,” Mr. Obama said, standing in front of a sea of police officers and sheriff’s deputies at the Minneapolis Police Department Special Operations Center.... 

I totally agree with President Obama's goal of reducing gun violence and pushing for background checks for gun purchasers.  We've got to do whatever we can to prevent future tragedies involving guns.

>>>> Gov. John Kasich unveiled his budget today. You just wonder how he expects to make up for the tax cuts he'll be advocating. See the Dayton Daily News for details.  I'm interested in seeing his proposal for merit pay for teachers and were he'll get the money.

Getting Less for Less

* No matter what magic formula Gov. John Kasich proposes for funding for Ohio's schools, it is not enough. The good people at InnovationOhio explain it all:

Ohio Gov. John Kasich wants to increase state education spending by $1.2 billion over the next two years, but the proposed increase falls short of replacing education funding cut in the last state budget.....

This is like a shell game with Kasich by moving money around, not allowing full disclosure, and taking money from education to deposit in the "rainy day" fund.
Of course, the Kasich administration refuses to address the fact that Ohio's school districts have had to go to voters for more money through school levies. Cutting funding to schools only penalizes taxpayers who must raise local taxes to maintain the quality of education their sons and daughters have.  Kasich may brag that he is cutting taxes, but what are we losing?

InnovationOhio sums up Kasich's latest education scheme funding:

Kasich School Funding Plan: The Basics

1. Additional $1.2 billion for schools over next two years; $1.6 billion cut for schools in past two years.....

     5. Changes to rules relating to student:teacher ratios and length of the school year.
     6. Funding for charter school facilities.

 We'll be waiting for details on how Kasich wants to provide more money to charter schools while sacrificing students in traditional public schools. John Kasich isn't known for being transparent in his moves. In the end, it will be awhile before we'll see the details.  Unfortunately, the Republican controlled Ohio General Assembly will approve anything Kasich proposes.  It will be up to citizens to vote them out.

In the end, students in public schools will get less money for their education while charter school owners get richer, and can contribute more to Republicans.

Just Saying......

Ohio Gov. John Kasich took his state of the state speech last year to Steubenville, Ohio. Steubenville is located in Jefferson County which, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, has a white race population of 92.1%. This year, Kasich plans to take his speech to Lima, Ohio, in Allen County, with a white population (U.S. Census Bureau) at 84.4%.

The state capital is located in Columbus, Ohio, in Franklin County. What is the white population of Franklin County Ohio? The U.S. Census Bureau has it at 71.2%.

Is Gov. John Kasich purposely taking his state of the state speech to primarily to counties with a larger percentage of white people? Just saying.....  Kasich is preaching to his base.

Get Ready for Kasich's Attack on Public Schools

•••  Teachers and parents should study any education "reform" that comes from Gov. John Kasich and the Ohio Republicans. If you believe that private corporations should make a profit on the education of our children, you'll like what Kasich has in store. However, if you are like a majority of Ohioans that support public schools, you'll hate the push for more failing charter schools.  WKYC has some hints of what is ahead.

 

If you need some background on Kasich's newest education reformer, Marguerite Roza, you need to read, and email the article about the biased and unscientific research that Roza has based her program:

School Finance through Roza-Tinted Glasses: 5 School-Funding Myths from a 

Single Misguided Source. 

 

*******

•  Last week, Republican Rep. Paul Broun made some completely ignorant statements.

TheHill:

...."I think my role is to uphold support and defend our Constitution," Broun said Tuesday according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "The constitution I uphold and defend is the one I carry in my pocket all the time, the U.S. Constitution. I don’t know what constitution that other members of Congress uphold, but it’s not this one. I think the only constitution that Barack Obama upholds is the Soviet Constitution, not this one. He has no concept of this one, though he claimed to be a constitutional lawyer."

Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago prior to becoming a U.S. senator.

The Journal-Constitution also noted that the last time a constitution was ratified for the defunct United Soviet Socialist Republic was 1977... 

It might not matter to the people in Georgia's 10th congressional district, but the USSR that Rep. Paul Broun is referring to no longer exists because it dissolved in 1991. You'd think Broun would know that since he is an elected member of the House of Representatives and a physician. Paul Broun's lack of knowledge about this historical fact is shameful. In case you haven't guessed, Broun's comment about President Obama is wrong too.

•••••••••••••••••

 

>>>  The re-designed Columbus Dispatch was released today.  Although it may look different, it is still the same right wing rag it has always been.  They are still cheering for Gov. John Kasich like they work for him.

Terhar Hears From Other Board Members

The Columbus Dispatch has an update on the Debe Terhar, President of the State Board of Education.

Dispatch:

Several members of the Ohio Board of Education today requested a special meeting to discuss the controversy surrounding Board President Debe Terhar and her Facebook post about Adolf Hitler and gun control.

“The reason for this special meeting will be for the members of the state board to have the opportunity to discuss together the situation regarding your posting on Facebook and how this is reflecting on board leadership,” board members Deborah Cain, Ann Jacobs, Jeffrey Mims and Mary Rose Oakar wrote in an e-mail to Terhar....

...“We’ve gotten 60,000 e-mails. It’s becoming such a huge deal and apparently it’s now getting a lot of attention nationally from Jewish leaders,” Jacobs said.....

Only 60,000 emails??????   I'm sure we can continue to send those emails to:
J.C. Benton, Director, Office of Board Relations at:

j.c.benton@education.ohio.gov

Debe Terhar, Gov. John Kasich, the State School Board members, and all Ohio must be told that we are offended and disgusted by Mrs. Terhar's posting remarks about President Obama.  It is shameful.

>>>  The ToledoBlade has an editorial that says "Ms. Terhar Must Go":

State Board of Education President Debe Terhar apparently doesn’t have the decency or good sense to resign. So it falls to Gov. John Kasich to make that happen.

Nothing Ms. Terhar could do to improve the education of Ohio’s children as president, or even a member, of the state board can offset or undo the damage she has done by setting an appalling example of intolerance and ignorance....

....For the good of the state, Ms. Terhar must step down. If she does not do so voluntarily, Mr. Kasich should make it happen. Her litany of excuses only confirms that she is ill-equipped to lead Ohio’s efforts to educate its children.

Time to go, Ms Terhar!

Kasich's State School Board President

Another one of Gov. John Kasich's appointees has gotten into trouble.

ColumbusDispatch:

State Board of Education President Debe Terhar said she was not comparing President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler when she posted a photograph of the Nazi leader on her Facebook page with a message critical of the administration’s new gun-control efforts.

But she does say we “need to step back and think about it and look at history” to see that tyrants have disarmed their citizens.

Terhar, a Cincinnati Republican elected last week by the 19-member school board to a second term as its president, recently posted the picture with this commentary: “Never forget what this tyrant said: ‘To conquer a nation, first disarm its citizens.’ — Adolf Hitler.”  

Gov. John Kasich certainly has a knack for picking far right Republicans for his political appointments. As the good people at Plunderbund have pointed out, Debe Terhar is not the first Kasich favorite to have problems.

Plunderbund:

....You do indeed reap what you sow and John Kasich has sown everything from the questionable, the unqualified, to the outright extremists in his appointments.

His PUCO chief is a climate change denier
He appoints unqualified right-to-life activists to the State Medical Board
His head of corrections worked for a private prison company
Kasich’s Ohio Department of Natural Resources run by former lobbyist and VP for American Electric Power
Kasich’s EPA Chief is a former environmental manager for Perdue mega-farmer in Indiana...


Kasich might shrug off this controversy, but it will only be more evidence of his extremist agenda that a majority of Ohioans dislike. If Kasich admires people like Debe Terhar, that says a lot about him and makes a lot of us very uncomfortable with these continuing far right, unhinged appointees.

Ooooooops!

>>>  The big Republican "retreat" going on right now has had a few problems. Republicans have been unable to gain the support of women voters in past elections, and yet they continue to "not get it" when it comes to being able to listen to women.

Hunter at DailyKos  has a little snippet about a planned seminar at the Republican meetings "....on how to talk to women and minorities without pissing them off. The panel, entitled Discussion on Successful Communication with Minorities and Women....:


Fair enough, but having a panel on minorities and women that seemed to be well-stocked with white guys proved perhaps even more awkward:

  ....But then why, a final reporter prodded, did this panel on communicating with women  and minorities include three white men: Representatives Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and Scott Rigell and Frank R. Wolf, both of Virginia? 

Mr. Walden, who was not responsible for putting together the event, pointed out that the panel also included several women: “a woman from CNN” (Ana Navarro) and “Sean Duffy’s wife” (Rachel Campos-Duffy). Mr. Duffy is a congressman from Wisconsin; his wife is a television personality....

In case you are interested, Ana Navarro, is a Republican strategist, who contributes to CNN, according to CNN.

Republicans Oppose Everything!

Do you ever think that if President Obama made a public statement that the sky is blue, that the Republicans would disagree with him? 

The ATF has been without a director for six years.  With an increase in gun crimes, it does seem reasonable that elected official would want to make sure that a director should be approved.  However, the Republican Obstruction Party has plans to block President Obama's nominee.

NY Times:

President Obama indicated on Wednesday that along with asking members of Congress to pass measures like an assault weapons ban, he would be ratcheting up pressure on lawmakers to do something they have refused to do for the past six years: confirm a permanent director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.....

....Mr. Jones, 55, a former Marine who is also the United States attorney in Minnesota, has led the beleaguered agency since August 2011, when he was appointed by the administration to take over in the wake of the scandal surrounding the bungled gun trafficking investigation known as Operation Fast and Furious....

....One of the more vocal critics of the Justice Department and the firearms bureau, Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, said on Wednesday that he agreed with the president that it was time for the Senate to confirm a permanent head of the agency, but he raised questions about Mr. Jones’s credibility....

It seems that no matter which person is nominated by President Obama, the Republican Obstruction Party, finds some reason to object.

>>> Notre Dame linebacker, Manti Te'o, is the talk of the internet.
USA Today:

There are dozens of crazy things associated with the Manti Te'o "hoax story," first reported by Timothy Burke and Jack Dickey of Deadspin.com. The first, of course, is the hoax itself: Contrary to national reports, Te'o's girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, not only didn't die in September, she never existed at all.....

....1. Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, who Deadspin alleged created the Kekua persona, was friends with Te'o. Deadspin suggests in its piece (citing tweets by Tuiasosopo) that Te'o and Tuiasosopo met and spent time together during Notre Dame's trip to play USC in early December.

2. A friend of Tuiasosopo's told Deadspin that he was "80 percent sure" that Te'o was "in on it."

3. ..........

Then, there is this from  Buzzfeed----

This afternoon, ESPN aired an interview between Manti Te'o and journalist Gene Wojciechowski from October 2 regarding Teo's deceased girlfriend, Lennay Kekua. Wojciechowski then discussed today's revelation that she does not exist.

Here's the full story of Manti Te'o and his fake girlfriend, which he's calling a hoax he fell victim to....

So if Manti Te'o was a "victim" of a hoax, did his parents meet her, as he said? Wow!

Time for Common Sense

As a nation, we must do something to stop this gun violence. Unfortunately, some people believe that their rights to guns trumps your rights to life, safety, and having your children protected from violence.  We've all seen what happened at Sandy Hook, Columbine, Rep. Gabby Gifford and the victims in her district, at movie theaters, in neighborhoods, and numerous schools.  Americans must stand up and say to gun manufacturers, the NRA, and people that love their guns more than human beings and say,

 "Enough!" 

We can work together on common sense laws/rules:

1. You can have your hunting guns, but make sure that they are secure in your home. 

2. If someone is mentally ill in your home, perhaps having weapons in your home is not a good idea. Take a second look and examine what threat those weapons might pose to your own family and friends. Can you get mental health assistance for those in your family that you believe need help?

3. People who hunt do not need guns that have magazines with the rapid firing of multiple bullets in seconds.

4. Why should an unelected group of special interests, like the NRA, be able to dictate what type of weapons can be carried in our public areas, churches, schools, and other places?

5. The NRA's latest ad about the President's children, is a sick, twisted organization. Shame on the NRA. 

6. Background checks on gun purchasers are important and necessary to protect our children.

7. Get on board: Call and email President Obama, your representative, your senators, the media, and the NRA and tell them to work for a ban on assault weapons and large capacity bullet magazine clips.

Consider the Source, His Record & Contributors

Republican Rep. Steve Stockman (TX-36) made an outrageous statement.

WashingtonPost:

Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Tex.) says he’s willing to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Obama should the White House implement new gun regulations through executive action.

“The White House’s recent announcement they will use executive orders and executive actions to infringe on our constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms is an unconstitutional and unconscionable attack on the very founding principles of this republic,” Stockman said in a statement. “I will seek to thwart this action by any means necessary, including but not limited to eliminating funding for implementation, defunding the White House, and even filing articles of impeachment.”



Obama is currently reviewing options laid out by Vice President Biden’s task force on gun violence and will announce his plans this week....

Rep. Steve Stockman's campaign finance information is very interesting.
According to Open Secrets, gun rights PACs donated $19,449 to his campaign committee.  Stockman also is know to have engaged in mud-slinging during his campaign (See Washington Post and the Houston Chronicle).

Money

>  President Obama had a press conference today and talked extensively about the debt limit. You can see the press conference at the WashingtonPost. The Republicans are talking about shutting down government, which would mean that Social Security recipients, our military, federal employees, government contractors, our veterans, etc., would not receive checks.  The Republicans like to play with people's lives, and yet refuse to acknowledge that the debt went up during the last Bush administration with the tax cuts and wars that were not fully paid for by that administration.


> Since Ohio Gov. John Kasich cut funding to all levels of education, it is no surprise that student tuition and fees are increasing. New buildings and a sophomore on campus living requirement, will costs students more money at the Ohio State University.

DaytonDailyNews:

Ohio State University is set to become the largest college in the country to require sophomores to live on campus — a rule aimed at improving retention and graduation rates but one that will likely add to the financial burden faced by students.

OSU trustees in August approved $396 million to design and construct new dorms and a recreation center, adding 3,200 beds. The 56,000-student university — the nation’s third largest — said keeping 5,200 sophomores in OSU housing will encourage them to stay involved in university activities and give the campus a smaller feel. The requirement is planned to take effect in fall 2016......

.....Ohio State plans to issue bonds, take out an internal loan and spend cash to finance the project. Room rates will go up as much as 6 percent per year; meal and recreation fee increases won’t be capped but aren’t expected to jump as much as room rates.....

And so it goes.....

Ohio Politics

> Gov. John Kasich will be giving his State of the State speech in the coming weeks.  According to an article at Cincinnati.com, Kasich might give the speech in primetime to have it reach more citizens. Really? I know we certainly would not watch that!

> Which Ohio politician has gotten lots of campaign money from the NRA?   The ClevelandPlainDealer has the names:

...It turns out that a northeast Ohioan, U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, was tied for first place in receipts from the nation's leading gun lobby, the National Rifle Association, in the November election cycle.

Renacci, a Republican from Wadsworth, got $9,900 from the NRA Political Victory Fund for his successful reelection effort. That tied him with Steve Fincher, a Tennessee Republican in the U.S. House who also got $9,900.

Coming in next nationally: Josh Mandel, the Ohio treasurer who ran unsuccessfully against Senate Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown. Mandel, a Republican, got $9,450 from the NRA. Brown got nothing....

Now you know which candidates carry the water for the NRA.

New Poll

There is a new poll out today from the Washington Post-ABC.
WashingtonPost:

..Q: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama handled budget negotiations to avoid the 'fiscal cliff'

Detailed View

Approve 52%

Disapprove 37%

No opinion

Q: Do you approve or disapprove of the way House Speaker John Boehner handled budget negotiations to avoid the 'fiscal cliff'

Detailed View

Approve 31%

Disapprove  51%

No opinion

John Boehner's ratings continue to suffer.

Problems in Ohio Prisons?

* Here in Columbus, Ohio, we've lost WVKO as a liberal talk radio station and Current TV broadcast of both the Bill Press, and Stephanie Miller programs. We're forced to listen to both radio programs on our computers.

* What is going on in Ohio's prisons?

Dispatch:

....testing done annually in October by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction found 3.32 percent of inmates tested positive for drugs. The vast majority used marijuana, but there were positives for opiates, cocaine and alcohol as well.

It was the highest rate found by what is known as “saturation” drug testing in state prisons in more than a decade. A total of 6,828 inmates in 28 prisons in the state system were tested, with 227 positive for drug use. If the 3.32 percent positive rate was expanded to cover the entire prison population of 49,783, that would mean about 1,650 inmates were on drugs at any point in time.....

Even though Dept. of Rehab and Corrections Director Mohr indicated that not all tests were done on random inmates, it shows that this Kasich administration is not doing well in this area.  You just wonder which prisons had higher rates.

>>>>>  Anyone that advocates guns for classroom teachers is an idiot.  Do they think students would not try to take them away from teachers?  Those people that think that teachers should be armed, should leave their guns at home and volunteer at their local schools. The gun-loving individuals would see what it is like in schools, especially at lunch, recess, class changes, and in classrooms. Besides, volunteers are always needed, as long as individuals can pass a background check.

Facts Are Real

> The next time any Republican mentions that President Obama spends too much time on vacation, remind that person that President George W. Bush spent one third of his presidency on vacation, including 5 weeks on vacation in 2001.  President Obama has a lot of catching up to do to get anywhere close to the record-breaking vacation time of George W. Bush.

Mark Knoller of CBS News is the numbers guy for Presidents and their travel habits. The DailyBeast:

...When President George W. Bush left office, CBS' numbers guru Mark Knoller calculated that Bush spent 487 days at Camp David and 490 at his ranch in Crawford, Texas...

President Obama's vacation time has been quite short.

_________

 >>> There is plenty of good news in Congress----

 • Rep. Alan Grayson is back in office.
 • Tammy Duckworth is now Sen. Tammy Duckworth.
 • There are more women in Congress, mostly Democrats.

 • Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, now out of office, won't be followed around by her "purse boy" as she walks through the halls of the Senate (NY Times).

 • Republican Allen West is out of office along with his insane talking points!!!!! :)

How interesting!

>>> Here is something to talk about around the water cooler at work-----

Salon:

Conservative mouthpiece Sean Hannity lost about half of his TV audience in the weeks after the election while his colleague Bill O’Reily’s viewership only dropped by about a third, the Daily News reported.....

...Hannity performed even worse in the “money-demo” of viewers aged 25-54. More than half of them deserted his show.

This is just wonderful news. I guess people are just tired of the lies, and right wing propaganda.

Names to Remember

* When I shop, I always consider the political leanings of the stores/businesses. If I've read about unfair practices in the way a company treats employees, or some odd behavior on the part of the owners, that particular store is not where I'll spend my money. For example, I do not shop at Walmart or stores that want to deny their employees certain parts of the Affordable Care Act.  Here is news you can use.....

Raw Story:

An attorney representing the Hobby Lobby chain of arts and crafts stores said that the company intends to defy a court order that it comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA)’s provisions regarding contraceptives, the so-called “morning after pill” and employee health coverage. According to Associated Press, the company says that it is willing to face the up to $1.3 million in fines it will accrue per day by not providing coverage for the medications.

The arch conservative Green family, which owns Hobby Lobby and the religious bookstore chain Mardel, maintains that allowing anti-conception medications like the “morning after” and “week after” pills is tantamount to supporting abortion. The family is being represented in court by Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a Christian legal group dedicated to fighting issues of this kind of the nation’s courts......

.....Emergency Contraception (EC) drugs do not induce abortions, but rather prevent pregnancy by keeping a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus.  An abortion terminates a pregnancy, whereas with EC medications, if used properly, pregnancy never began......

I guess a lot of us will be avoiding Hobby Lobby.  Some people are avoiding other businesses, according to ThinkProgress:

Ever since Darden Restaurants — the owner of the Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains — first announced its anti-Obamacare campaign, the company has had a tough couple of months. Darden admitted as much when it revised its predictions for latest quarterly earnings down in December, attributing the drop to “recent negative media coverage on Darden [...] and how we might accommodate healthcare reform.” The negative press led the company to reverse course on its threat to shift employees to part-time status to avoid covering them under Obamacare. The latest report on Darden’s earnings prove that was a good move, since the restaurants did take a turn for the worse as a result of their bad publicity. Its net income fell 37 percent.....

*****

>>>  The Republican-loving Columbus Dispatch has come out against an Ohio elected official--- State Senator Chris Widener, a Republican. 



Columbus Dispatch:

Sen. Chris Widener wields great power at the Statehouse, where he is supposed to use his position to better the interests of his constituents — not, as appears to be the case, to bail out his associates. Or himself.

The Springfield Republican, set to be the Senate's No. 2 leader, says he did nothing wrong in 2009 when he sponsored a bill that authorized a financially troubled livestock-exposition center to levy a special tax to bail itself out of financial difficulties.....

Never mind that he helped found the nonprofit association that built the center.....

....Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said he's discussing the situation with the state legislative inspector general.....

Uh-oh.  You know there is real trouble when the Dispatch goes after an Ohio Republican!

****** 

*****  If milk prices go up, you can blame it on John Boehner and the Republicans!

Dayton Daily News:


For Ohio farmers, it is not the fiscal cliff that’s made them nervous, but the farm bill held hostage to fiscal cliff wrangling, said Adam Sharp, vice president of public policy for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. Policy Matters Ohio, a Cleveland-based think-tank, estimates Ohio could lose more than $18.5 million in aid.

The farm bill has serious implications for a giant share of the economy since there’s funding for farm conservation, research, price safety nets and insurance.

If Congress does not pass a farm bill to replace one that expired in September, analysts also predict price hikes for grocery store items, including losing the 1949 milk law that could lead to doubling the price of a gallon of milk to $7.....

Boehner and his pals probably don't care if milk goes to $7/gallon.  They probably put champagne on their morning cereal!

Extreme

* Americans are looking at Republicans in a different way.

PolitickerblogCNN:

Just over half the public says that the GOP should give up more than the Democrats in any bipartisan solution to the country's problems, according to a new national survey. 

And a CNN/ORC International poll also indicates that a slight majority of Americans sees the Republican party's policies and views as too extreme, a first for the GOP, and fewer than a third say they trust congressional Republicans more than President Barack Obama to deal with the major issues facing the nation.....

.....According to the survey, 53% say the GOP should compromise more, with 41% saying the Democratic Party should give up more of the proposals it supports to develop bipartisan solutions.....


This poll also gave President Obama and approval rating of 52%. The Republicans are more worried about protecting the rich than providing security for our elderly, disabled, and school children. The GOP's arrogance is absolutely disgusting.

The Good News vs. The Bad

* This is good news---

HuffingtonPost:

Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski is set to become the first woman to chair the prestigious Senate Appropriations Committee, a position left open this week by the death of Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye.

A Democrat, Mikulski was first elected to the Senate in 1986 after serving 10 years in the House. Last year, she became the longest-serving woman in Senate history.

With her ascendancy to the chairmanship of Appropriations, she enters a male-dominated realm that in the past has had sweeping power in deciding how federal dollars will be dispersed around the country....

Congratulations, Sen. Mikulski, on your new assignment!

• The bad news comes just after the tragedy in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.

USAToday:

Residents of this eastern Hamilton County, Ohio, community are in an uproar over plans to open an indoor gun range just 100 yards away from more than 1,000 students in two Loveland, Ohio, elementary schools, an issue especially controversial in light of last week's massacre at a Connecticut school.

The proposed range is across the block from Loveland Primary School, which educates about 500 students in grades 1 and 2, and the attached Loveland Elementary School with about 700 third and fourth graders.....

City leaders should listen to citizens and look for an alternate location.

There You Have It...

• It appears that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's approval rating is in the toilet.

HuffingtonPost:

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's (R) popularity has dropped precipitously since he signed right-to-work legislation, according to a poll released Tuesday by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling.

Snyder's approval rating has sunk to 38 percent, down a net 28 points since November, PPP found....

Wow! I guess Snyder's honeymoon is over with his state's voters. Of course, it doesn't help that he broke his promises to the workers.

>>>> Well, well, well. It appears that the right wing, holier than thou, religious, family-first group has a problem.

HuffingtonPost:

The former director of women’s and reproductive health at the Family Research Council, a prominent Christian conservative advocacy group, is suing the organization, claiming it retaliated against her and fired her after she filed a sexual harassment complaint against her boss. 

According to court documents first obtained and reported by journalist Evan Gahr, former FRC employee Moira Gaul, 42, filed a complaint in 2009 with the District of Columbia Human Rights Commission in which she accused her supervisor of gender discrimination. She claimed that her boss, the director of the Center for Human Life and Bioethics at the time, referred to the use of birth control pills as "whoring around," addressed emails to her with the words "hi cutie," pressured her to attend parties, and referred to her as a "young, attractive woman."

....Gahr identified Gaul's former supervisor as prominent anti-abortion lawyer William Saunders, who now works at the anti-abortion group Americans United for Life. Saunders and his attorney, William J. Hickey, did not respond to requests for comment on the case....

Very interesting.

*** Sometimes, when Republicans do or say things, the words come back to haunt them. When Mitt Romney said that he didn't care about 47% of the American people when he spoke at a private fundraiser, voters kept that in mind throughout the election. In Texas, the lack of thoughtful deliberations about the consequences of their actions has resulted in major problems.

NYTimes:

When state lawmakers passed a two-year budget in 2011 that moved $73 million from family planning services to other programs, the goal was largely political: halt the flow of taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood clinics....

....The latest Health and Human Services Commission projections being circulated among Texas lawmakers indicate that during the 2014-15 biennium, poor women will deliver an estimated 23,760 more babies than they would have, as a result of their reduced access to state-subsidized birth control. The additional cost to taxpayers is expected to be as much as $273 million — $103 million to $108 million to the state’s general revenue budget alone — and the bulk of it is the cost of caring for those infants under Medicaid.....

....The health agency’s numbers, while alarming to some state lawmakers, are not unexpected. Last legislative session, while lawmakers debated the cuts, the nonpartisan Legislative Budget Board estimated that they would lead 284,000 women to lose family planning services, resulting in 20,000 additional unplanned births at a cost to taxpayers of $231 million. The cuts passed anyway, a price that socially conservative legislators were willing to pay in their referendum on Planned Parenthood....

What did these Republican lawmakers think would happen when they ended this area of women's health care? How many poor women have had to go without cancer screenings because of the decisions of Texas lawmakers?  Have any women died because of their lack of medical treatment?