Good job, President Obama!

•  Some right wingers might be wetting their pants with this news from Forbes:

For the first time in more than 50 years of surveys, the CDC on Wednesday reported that more than 90% of Americans — 90.8% of us, to be specific — have health insurance.....

....Being insured even appears to cut down on your risk of death.....

Thank you, President Obama, for protecting the lives of Americans!

Advertising Dollars for Charter Schools

Ohio's charter schools are running many ads on local radio and TV stations. I've heard numerous ads for Performance Academy and they even got local radio personalities to visit in order to endorse their schools.  These charter schools exist on our tax dollars.  Shouldn't those tax dollars be used to educate their students and pay for teachers? Why are they spending thousands of dollars advertising?

Here are some results from the Ohio Department of Education:

 

Achievement
Performance Academy Eastland


At another Performance Academy, the grades are similar:

Columbus Performance Academy


 You can check out the grades from schools all across Ohio here.

An article from the Dayton Daily News (2012) shows that the only people profiting from charters are the people that own them! 

Unfortunately, Ohio's Republican controlled legislature refuses to reform the charter school disasters because charter owners continue to fund their campaigns. It is time for tax payers to stop this charter school mess and put funds back into traditional public schools operated by taxpayers, not corporations/private owners.

Destroying America

The Republican presidential candidates are trying to out conservative each other. They brag about their tax cuts, their 'family values' that have guided their lives, and their goal to 'take back' the country.

What are these Republicans candidates refusing to explain?

>  They are not providing the details about how their tax cuts have gone primarily to the wealthy, while schools and public services (fire/police), and communities, have had to deal with massive cuts.

> The Republican 'family values' claims of these candidates does not include their own transgressions (divorces, one candidate's ties to the DC Madam scandal, another candidate's participation in an exorcism, a GOPer's bribery scandal, budget problems, underfunding public education while rewarding failing corporate-owned charter schools, etc.).

> All of them say that they want to 'take back' the country, but they fail to provide details. They want to turn back the clock to the 19th century, when white men controlled everything.  There were no voting rights for women and minorities, and white men, especially those with lots of money, had authority over institutions.

Please. Don't let these right wing nut jobs win control over our lives. We need to move our country forward, and not backward.

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July!

___________________

According to Brent Larkin at Cleveland.com, our governor could be viewed as a 'jerk' by some:

...Kasich is many things. Normal isn't one of them.

In fact, as Kasich prepares to run for president, expect more people to suggest in public what many who know him have been whispering in private for years.
Indelicate though it may be, it's a question worth asking:

Is John Kasich too big a jerk to be president?....

Those of us who have followed Kasich's political career already know the answer to that question---- yes.

Marriage Equality

Congratulations to those who've fought so hard for marriage equality. As President Obama said, "...We've made our union a little more perfect..."  and "...love is love..."

Political Craziness

*  Jeb Bush has announced that he is joining the Republican presidential clown car. Despite the fact that his designed logo doesn't mention his last name, we all know that he is the son of former Presidents George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush. That alone should disqualify him from ever holding office!

The idea of another Bush family member in the White House makes me physically ill.


*  Meanwhile, Ohio Gov. John Kasich is on his low key, undeclared campaign for President. He apparently wants to take his anti-women's rights, anti-union, anti-public school, pro-business agenda to Washington, DC. Although Kasich speaks of an 'Ohio miracle' as he tours, those of us here know that being 31st in job creation doesn't really win him any accolades.

* Scott Walker's record on women is very disgusting. You can read about it here at MSNBC, theProgressive, Truthout, Americablog.  Why would any woman support Scott Walker?

Can't decide?

I like both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders for the Democratic candidate for President. They are both well-qualified and in tune with what is needed for the future. I do like that Hillary pillow!

- - - - -

  Google has a Google Doodle on Sally Ride, the first woman in space. The Verge has more about the salute to Sally Ride.

Where have all the Republicans gone?

There is a great article in Politico that describes what the Republican Party is up against:

...There’s been much written about how millennials are becoming a reliable voting bloc for Democrats, but there’s been much less attention paid to one of the biggest get-out-the-vote challenges for the Republican Party heading into the next presidential election: Hundreds of thousands of their traditional core supporters won’t be able to turn out to vote at all.

The party’s core is dying off by the day.

Since the average Republican is significantly older than the average Democrat, far more Republicans than Democrats have died since the 2012 elections. To make matters worse, the GOP is attracting fewer first-time voters. Unless the party is able to make inroads with new voters, or discover a fountain of youth, the GOP’s slow demographic slide will continue election to election.....

Look at that one line....''the GOP is attracting fewer first-time voters.' Whatever the Republicans are selling, anti-immigrant, anti-equality, anti-women's rights, etc., the young people aren't buying. This is why the Republicans try to stop young people, minorities, and women from voting. The GOP cannot win if Democrats show up and vote. We cannot let the Republicans stop us!

Be Worried!

* Ohio Gov. John Kasich has spent the last few weeks touring the country giving speeches as an 'undeclared' candidate for President. The Dispatch reports that Kasich is going to California for some speeches and fundraising.  While Kasich is out of Ohio, the layoffs continue in the state.

Meanwhile, a firm that is associated with Republicans is in big trouble.

Dispatch:

The former president of a major Republican political advertising firm has been indicted in Franklin County on new charges of perjury and tampering with evidence.
Nicholas P. Everhart, one-time president of Strategy Group for Media, previously was charged in Delaware County for allegedly recruiting a then-employee to illegally search the firm’s computers shortly before and after he was fired....

...Its clients include major Republican officeholders such as Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and others.  

* ThisWeekNews (which is owned by the Dispatch) reports that the Gahanna-Jefferson School district is waiting for the governor's budget. All information provided to the district and districts across the state point to more Kasich cuts to public schools.

–––––

>>>>>  Do you have major concerns about Republican candidate Jeb Bush?
You should.

In some recent interviews, Jeb responded to a question and said that he too would have invaded Iraq. When people showed surprise about his statement, Jeb indicated that he 'misunderstood' the question.
Jeb has also said that his major foreign policy adviser is his brother, former President George W. Bush.  Oh, dear.

If you believe in equality for all, you should be concerned about Jeb's favorite author-----
Charles Murray. As TPM points out, Charles Murray's opinions are not supportive of equality.

The Republican Candidates

The Republican candidates for President are definitely crazy. Why would anyone vote for any of these people? They all appear to be anti-equality, anti-women's rights, anti-public school, anti-separation of church and state, and for continuous war.

The latest additions to the Republican clown car include Carly Fiorina, and Mike Huckabee (click on their names for info).  Just thinking about Ben Carson as the President elevates my blood pressure!

These people live in some bubble where they only watch Fox News and talk to people that think like them.

Unions Help People

We visited South Carolina last week. We were surprised by the billboard/ads that were anti-union on highways, newspapers, and TV.  Apparently, Boeing is trying to kill unions in the state. Employees at Boeing need to wake up and look at how unions can protect your health, your job, and provide benefits that the company doesn't want you to have. Union activists have been threatened, according to the news. 

Don't worry, South Carolina. Union organizers are not going to leave your state.

>  Ohio Gov. John Kasich is waiting for a message from God as to whether or not he should run for President (see Plunderbund). We might all want to send some texts/Facebook posts to Kasich, identify ourselves as God, and tell him to stay in Ohio and do his job. Apparently, Ohio still lags in job growth.

Thinking about going to college?

Many years ago, I was able to go to college by securing bank loans.  It took me 10 years, but I paid back every penny. I got two degrees from a land grant university, and I was able to use both of them for my career as a teacher.

Today prospective college students are looking at 'colleges' run by corporations that offer easy access, excessive fees, and overblown job prospects.  Unfortunately, many students are finding themselves in deep debt and without a job. Some of these 'colleges' have been put out of business by the government, or are being sued by former students.

Before you sign any forms or give any money to an 'admissions' officer, do your homework. Do a Google search with the name of the college and lawsuit. You'll be amazed at what you'll find.

If a college is more concerned with making a profit and increasing dividends to investors, stay away.

The Republicans!!!!

The stuff that comes from members of the Republican Party just is absolutely horrible.  Last week, Indiana passed a bill that allows people to refuse to serve or do business with anyone. Because the law that allows people to discriminate, Gov. Pence and the state of Indiana have seen evidence of boycotts and protest.

- Ohio's Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine has displayed his prejudice in his recent comments. RawStory has the latest from DeWine on his views on marriage equality. Mike DeWine has also been against women's reproductive freedom and access to gynecological care. DeWine, who has no uterus, wants to control those who have one!

- Gov. Kasich of Ohio needs to update his knowledge about current events.
Plunderbund:

John Kasich was in New Hampshire this weekend on his pre-presidential campaign tour and he landed himself a spot on a local political talk show where he was asked some softball questions about world events.  Kasich used the opportunity to show New Hampshire and the world just how unprepared he is for any serious discussion on foreign policy.

When asked about the threat from Russia, Kasich replied that the situation with “the Soviet Union and Putin” is “very concerning” and that we “have to convince our European friends like the Germans, the French… that we need tough sanctions.”

Yo, Kasich! The Soviet Union doesn't exist!!!!! Kasich is not ready for prime time!

Nuts!

>  Writer Charles M. Blow of the NY Times responded to some recent comments made by Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal:

...Last week on Fox News, he set about defending his statement that America “shouldn’t tolerate those who want to come and try to impose some variant, or some version, of Shariah law.” But he went so far as to say of prospective immigrants:

“In America we want people who want to be Americans. We want people who want to come here. We don’t say, ‘You have to adopt our creed, or any particular creed,’ but we do say, ‘If you come here, you need to believe in American exceptionalism.’ ”

What? Where is that written? I can’t find this “need to believe in American exceptionalism” anywhere in the Immigration and Nationality Act. Isn’t American exceptionalism itself a creed?

The smart-on-paper Jindal increasingly comes across as nuttier than a piece of praline...

Along with his continuously crazy remarks, Jindal is just not that prepared to be President. 

>>   Canadian Ted Cruz, U.S. Senator from Texas, has announced his intention to run for President. Cruz was born in Canada and many people believe that he is not eligible to be President for that reason alone. Other craziness from Cruz only adds to his lack of capacity to be the Chief Executive. (See the list put together by Raw Story.)

>>>   Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has a plan to force women to have babies.
RawStory:

...leave it to Sam Brownback, whose completely unjustified massive ego allows him to just speak off the cuff, to go ahead and come out with it by claiming that “economic growth” is “entwined” with a forced childbirth agenda....

Brownback apparently wants to stop all reproductive freedom for women, and tie them up until they can give birth.  Brownback believes in freedom, as long as you aren't a woman!


You can add Rand Paul, Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, Iowa's Steve King, John Kasich, Rubio, Santorum, Jeb, Rick Perry, etc., etc. to the list of nutty Republicans!

The 47

By now everyone has heard of the letter written to Iran by 47 Republican U.S. Senators.  Their plan, as crafted by Sen. Tom Cotton, was to undermine the nuclear talks between the United States and Iran. Their letter is viewed by some as a violation of the Logan Act. The 47 Republican Senators include Rob Portman of Ohio.

The Washington Post has this:

Here's who signed:
Signatories:

Richard Shelby (Ala.)
Jeff Sessions (Ala.)
Dan Sullivan (Alaska)
John McCain (Ariz.)
John Boozman (Ark.)
Tom Cotton (Ark.)
Cory Gardner (Colo.)
Marco Rubio (Fla.)
Johnny Isakson (Ga.)
David Perdue (Ga.)
Mike Crapo (Idaho)
Jim Risch (Idaho)
Mark Kirk (Ill.)
Chuck Grassley (Iowa)
Joni Ernst (Iowa)
Pat Roberts (Kansas)
Jerry Moran (Kansas)
Mitch McConnell (Ky.)
Rand Paul (Ky.)
David Vitter (La.)
Bill Cassidy (La.)
Roger Wicker (Miss.)
Roy Blunt (Mo.)
Steve Daines (Mont.)
Deb Fischer (Neb.)
Ben Sasse (Neb.)
Dean Heller (Nev.)
Kelly Ayotte (N.H.)
Richard Burr (N.C.)
Thom Tillis (N.C.)
John Hoeven (N.D.)
Rob Portman (Ohio)
Jim Inhofe (Okla.)
James Lankford (Okla.)
Pat Toomey (Pa.)
Lindsey Graham (S.C.)
Tim Scott (S.C.)
John Thune (S.D.)
Mike Rounds (S.D.)
John Cornyn (Texas)
Ted Cruz (Texas)
Orin Hatch (Utah)
Mike Lee (Utah)
Shelley Moore Capito (W.V.)
Ron Johnson (Wis.)
Mike Enzi (Wyo.)
John Barrasso (Wyo.)

Did not sign:

Lisa Murkowski (Alaska)
Jeff Flake (Ariz.)
Daniel Coats (Ind.)
Susan Collins (Maine)
Thad Cochran (Miss.)
Lamar Alexander (Tenn.)
Bob Corker (Tenn.)


Those that signed the letter should be admonished for their warmongering and attempt to sabotage agreements. Shame on them all!

How much?

Holy cow! They spent how much on advertising??????

Dispatch:

Ohio’s largest online charter school spent at least $2.27 million of state education tax dollars last school year on advertising to attract students, or about $155 for each student who enrolled that year....

“It seems shockingly high, and I cannot imagine there would be any good reason to spend that kind of tax dollars” on ads, state Rep. Teresa Fedor, a Democrat from Toledo, said of ECOT’s ad budget. She is calling for an overhaul of the state’s charter-school laws.....

....The Dispatch reported last week that ECOT had an average enrollment of 14,600 students last school year, but only because it enrolled thousands of students each month to replace the thousands who left after staying for only weeks or months. ECOT churned through almost 23,000 students over the course of calendar year 2014 to arrive at an enrollment of 14,600....

OMG! How in the world can Kasich promise even more money to charters? Our tax dollars are being wasted while charters fail and their owners get richer.

Do Not Expect the Facts from Fox

The good people over at Plunderbund found some interesting information about the truthfulness of Fox News and their talking heads.

....As he (O'Reilly) continues to defend the purity of Fox News, you might be interested in the tale of the surveys. PolitiFact, the highly respected non-partisan rating system, produced these figures on the accuracy of what advances to its audience, night and day:

True, 14.11 pct.
Mostly true, 14.11 pct.
Mostly false, 26.20 pct.
False, 39.30 pct....


You can do the math  ----   28.22 % True or Mostly True

                                           65.50 %  False or Mostly False

Why is anyone watching Fox News??????

Shame!

Ohio taxpayers have been concerned that their money is being misused to prop up failing charter schools. Now, the failing charter system in Ohio has been noticed by people outside of our state.

Ohio.com:

During a day of panel discussions with education reporters and experts at the University of Colorado Boulder, national and local school choice supporters had plenty to say about Ohio.

None of it, however, was good.....

....Among the lowest performing charter school operators continually identified by Ziebarth, Petrilli and other panelists were: K12 Inc., a national company that operates Ohio Virtual Academy and Insight of Ohio; the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, an Ohio online charter school owned by political contributor Bill Lager; and White Hat Management, an Akron-based company founded by local industrialist David Brennan, who pioneered Ohio’s charter school movement.....

Unfortunately, Gov. Kasich and the Ohio Republicans won't stop funding these charters.  Kasich even wants to send more money to these failing schools!  Why would they refuse to stop the charter school waste?  The charter school groups are major contributors to Republican candidates.

The Republican Lies

By now you've heard the cockamamie accusations made by Rudy Giuliani.

Time:

...Speaking at a private dinner for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in Manhattan, the former mayor of New York said, “I do not believe, and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America,” Politico reports. “He doesn’t love you. And he doesn’t love me. He wasn’t brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country.”

Apparently Giuliani hasn't gotten enough attention recently so he said something ignorant, stupid, and racist.  What can you expect from a Republican?  The Republican Party has demonstrated their racism, and sexism in more recent years, especially since the candidacy and election of President Obama.

People should realize that the GOP cannot understand the economic success that has resulted under the Obama administration.  The Republicans cannot deal with facts. With the cooperation of Fox, the Republicans have created an incredible amount of lies, conspiracies, and racist comments. They need to stop.

Here are some facts------

'Clown Car'

Ed Kilgore wrote a little something in The Washington Monthly about Gov. Kasich.

WashingtonMonthly:


....Yes, John Kasich is interrupting his tour of Rocky Mountain states promoting that hip new idea the Balanced Budget Amendment to go to an actual early primary state...


....I’m sorry, I just don’t get why so many smart people share this view of Kasich as a world-beater. Yes, his resume is strong, and yes, he’s theoretically “electable.” But if there was ever the wrong time for a Balanced Budget crusade, it’s probably right now, and I just can’t see him rousing a crowd into the kind of hate-frenzy needed to win in the early states...


 Charles Pierce of Esquire, had a very worthwhile article (John Kasich Emerges: One More For The Clown Car) about Ohio Gov. John Kasich.  Here are some excerpts from that Esquire article:

...I remember, back in 1999, how hot a candidate everybody thought John Kasich was; he was the staunch supply-sider who could talk to the young...

....He talked to the young so well that he became the only member of the House of Representatives ever to get the heave-ho at a Grateful Dead concert -- perhaps, as Woody Allen once put it, because several dozen people were rushed to the hospital with bad vibes. Do you know how much of a jackass you have to be to get thrown out of a Dead concert, at least if they don't catch you selling fake crystals or something? Yeesh.

Anyway, Kasich '00 cratered even before the 1999 Iowa Straw Poll -- which made him also the Tim Pawlenty of the '90's -- because George W. Bush was hoovering up all the campaign money. What I remember most about Kasich's brief trip around the track is that he was somebody who thoroughly bought his own publicity. (Here in the Commonwealth -- God save it! -- we have come to know this as the McDreamy Syndrome.) Now, though, he's in his second term as governor of Ohio, where he has a) accepted the government-cootified Medicaid money, and b) lost the fight against public employee unions that Scott Walker won in Wisconsin. And his big campaign pitch is, as I said, the Worst Idea In Interplanetary Politics. I don't know how "I had all these terrible ideas before any of these guys" is going to play as a strategy. It's only a matter of time before he starts arguing that he's not a career politician.



While some (2 or 3 people) in Ohio view Kasich as a visionary, those outside of the state have opinions that are not the least favorable. I'm old enough to remember Kasich's tenure in the House of Representatives.  Although some in the GOP thought Kasich was 'hip,' it is safe to say he wasn't hip then and he isn't hip now.

If there are people out there that think that cutting 100,000 people off food stamps, cutting funding to public schools, restricting women's reproductive rights, turning over public-financed prisons to private corrections companies, allowing less than safe food to be served in some prisons, cutting prison staff, attacking teachers, not supporting marriage equality, attacking union workers,......................then you must be a Republican and a supporter of a pro-business, anti-human agenda.