Some Republicans Don't Support Small Business

Legislation for small business was passed yesterday in the House of Representatives. According to the website for the Clerk of the House, (Roll Call Vote 830, HR 3854: Small Business Financing and Investment Act of 2009), 389 voted for the bill, and 32 voted against the bill.

I know you want to know the names of those 32 Republicans who voted NO on the Small Business bill. Here they are from the Clerk of the House's webpage:

Akin Bishop (UT) Broun (GA) Burgess Burton (IN) Campbell Carter Culberson Duncan Flake Foxx

Franks (AZ) Garrett (NJ) Granger Hensarling Issa Jordan (OH) Kingston Lamborn Lewis (CA) Lummis McClintock

McHenry Miller (FL) Neugebauer Paul Price (GA) Royce Ryan (WI) Sensenbrenner Shadegg Thornberry

There you have it. The next time these dirigibles say they are for small business, ask them why they voted against the legislation.

*** In case your are interested, the teabagger people who came out of the wilderness because of prodding by Fox News, have started their own party. It appears that the teabaggers, or "Tea Party" as they call themselves, has created a slate of candidates. They have their own website. Listed on the Tea Party site you can find their candidate for Ohio's 15th district, David Ryon.

Friday!!!!!

Oooooooops! Another Ohio Republican is in trouble!

Chillicothe Gazette:

CINCINNATI -- A federal grand jury in southwest Ohio has indicted a former Republican state representative on charges involving mail fraud and filing false income tax returns.

The indictment, announced Thursday, alleges that Michael A. Fox, also a former Butler County Commissioner, conspired with a central Ohio attorney to improperly benefit from county contracts. The indictment also alleges the men failed to report the income on federal tax returns.

Fox and Robert C. Schuler, of Dublin, are each charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and filing a false income tax return. Fox also faces four mail fraud counts, and Schuler faces one perjury count.....

Wow! How many Republicans have had legal problems? Too many.

>>> The continuing controversy about the Hi-Q Egg farm has residents and the Ohio EPA upset. As you may recall, former State Senator Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist and current GOP congressional candidate, was instrumental in allowing the huge factory farm to build in Union County. In the past, Union County has been a reliable Republican voting block. I wonder if Union County residents will remember how Republican Stivers created the legislation that has them preparing to deal with waste from 6,000,000 chickens?


Dispatch:

Faced with a state demand to protect a nearby stream from pollution, a company that wants to build a 6 million-chicken egg farm in Union County might simply wait for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to go away.

In April, the Ohio EPA told Iowa-based Hi-Q Egg Products to obtain a water-pollution permit for its farm because it was "inevitable" that chicken manure would pollute nearby Bokes Creek....

Republican Problems Spreading to Ohio????

Those of us that follow politics are aware of the election for New York's congressional district 23. Democrat Bill Owens is facing two opponents --- Republican Dede Scozzafava and Conservative Doug Hoffman. Hoffman has received the endorsement of Sarah Palin, Fred Thompson, and tea baggers.

Now the Washington Times (the far right newspaper) is reporting that a similar far right candidate has emerged for Ohio's 15th district race. Although this would probably not take votes away from Democratic Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, it could cost Republican Steve Stivers some votes. Republican Stivers is a former bank lobbyist.

Washington Times:

...In Ohio, conservative challenger David Ryon is running on the Constitution Party ticket in a race with incumbent Democratic Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy and state Sen. Steve Stivers, a Republican....

Could this be the beginning of a split within the GOP? Will other far right, conservative, teabag-leaning, candidates emerge?

Scary Republicans

With Halloween this week, I've noticed some very scary things from Republican candidates.

**** More and more people in central Ohio are starting to question whether we need a former bank lobbyist, Republican Steve Stivers, to go to Washington. Stivers is a Republican candidate running against U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15th-Dem). Kilroy has gone out of her way to vote for legislation to help and protect her constituents. Stivers, on the other hand, has worked to help and protect banks. Which candidate do you think would protect you from predatory lending, unfair bank charges, and consumer protection?????

Here is an article from Roll Call (August 4, 2008):

...That race pits Franklin County Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy (D) against Steve Stivers (R), who was vice president of government relations at Bank One in Columbus until 2003 when he became a state Senator.

“Steve Stivers’ career as a lobbyist is a central theme in this race because Central Ohio residents are looking for real answers to the serious economic problems that have been caused by too much lobbyist influence in the state and federal government,” Kilroy’s communications director, Brad Bauman, said in an e-mail. “It simply cuts to the core of his credibility. ... He spends a lifetime advocating for banking deregulation and then wants to tell people in Ohio how he’s gonna help fix the mortgage crisis, people simply don’t buy it.”...

Do we really need someone to protect those Wall Street bankers?


>>> According to an opinion piece in the Plain Dealer, Republican Jon Husted, candidate for Ohio Secretary of State and recently embroiled in a residency controversy, has started to sound just like former Ohio Secretary of State, Kenneth Blackwell.

In a recent fundraising letter, Husted looks very partisan, says writer Mark Naymik:

....now he's exploiting the episode to raise money.

Husted mentions Brunner by name eight times, claims she has ties to left-wing special interest groups and suggests she is a friend of the now-infamous ACORN community organizing group.

....If Husted truly believes Democrats can't be trusted on voting issues, he is going to have a hard time making nonpartisan decisions if he's elected in November 2010....

Husted seems cocky because of his residency win in the Republican dominated Ohio Supreme Court. Let me remind Husted that Ohioans do not want to go back to the days of Kenneth Blackwell when the right to vote was difficult to exercise because of games played with voting machines and counting ballots.

Special Event

A wine tasting benefit for the Haven of Hope Cancer Foundation will be held on Thursday, November 5, 2009, 5:30pm, at The Wine Guy Bistro in Hilliard. Special guest will be Barry Mitterhoff of Hot Tuna.


For tickets, call the Haven of Hope (614) 383-6256. Tickets are also available at the door for $40/person.

W.G. Bistro

4561 Scioto Darby Road

Hilliard, OH 43026
614-319-3737

Map

Biden Visits

Vice President Joe Biden helped U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15th) with a visit.

Dispatch:

Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy, midway through her first term in Congress, enlisted the country's second-most-prominent Democrat yesterday to aid her in what's expected to be a tough re-election battle....

....He said the economy was in free fall when he and President Barack Obama took office and has begun to stabilize.

"The question is, look at what you inherited, look at what Ohio got nailed with after eight years of absolute failed economic policy," he said....

I love Biden! He just cuts through everything and gets to the point.

U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy has been working to protect constituents from banks that take advantage of borrowers. Here is a release from Kilroy:


U.S. Representative Mary Jo Kilroy voted yesterday to protect central Ohioans from unfair lending practices that triggered the economic downturn and put undue stress on American families. The Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act of 2009, which was voted out of the House Committee on Financial Services on Thursday, would provide consumers with a fair and transparent marketplace to ensure their financial interests are adequately protected, while also requiring federal supervision of industries that have historically lacked strict oversight such as payday lenders and mortgage originators....

.....Kilroy introduced two amendments to the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act which were approved by the Financial Services Committee, one which would create an agency Ombudsman to give consumers impartial assistance if they need help resolving problems with their financial institutions......

Don't you wonder if Republican Steve Stivers would have supported such legislation? Stivers, the darling of Ohio bankers and a former bank lobbyist, is running against Kilroy for Ohio's 15th congressional district. With all we know about the problems bankers and Wall Street created for our nation, why would/should we support a pro-banking candidate like Stivers who wants nothing more that to help banks?

Notes

The Examiner:

Three first-term Ohio congressman, who sit on the powerful U.S. House Financial Services Committee and who can expect a tough fight for a 2nd term next year, added their votes to pass out reform legislation designed to protect consumers against unfair and dishonest financial marketplace practices by creating a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, an independent agency with broad authority to protect consumers in the financial marketplace......

.....(Rep. Brad) Miller was joined by Ohio Democratic congressmen Steve Driehaus (OH-01), Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15) and Charles Wilson (OH-06) who voted along party lines in passing the bill out of committee 39-29. No Ohio republican congressman are members of this committee

The CFPA, as passed today by the House Financial Committee, would have authority to intervene over other primary banking regulators who fail at regulating smaller banks and credit unions, and to jump in when bigger bank and non-banks come into play.....

This sounds like legislation that protects people! (I wonder how Kilroy's Republican challenger, a former bank lobbyists, would have voted on this. He probably would have said it was unfair to banks.)

**** I visited Republican candidate for governor Kasich's website. There are lots of generalities but few specifics on how he'll reform education and lower taxes. Kasich, who worked with Lehmann Brothers, also wants to cut out the influence of special interest groups. Hmmmm. Does he still serve on all those various Boards of Directors for businesses? Aren't they special interest groups?

Ohio Republicans: Call Them Irresponsible

Besides "irresponsible," there are a few other words that come to mind when I think of the Republicans in the Ohio Senate. While Democrats want to delay a planned tax cut, the Republicans in the Ohio Senate still support a tax cut. Just before he left office, former Republican Gov. Bob Taft and the elected Republicans in the General Assembly, pushed through dramatic tax cuts that they hoped would create havoc for the incoming Democratic Governor, Ted Strickland.

With Ohio suffering the economic mess left by Taft and George W. Bush, it would be foolish, irresponsible, and just plain stupid for the Republicans to let the tax cuts occur at this moment. If we just left the tax rate as it is now, further cuts would not have to be made in programs where money is needed most.

(For more information on this see the AP story.)

Those Whining Insurance Executives

A recent panel discussion in Cleveland shows that some health insurance executives are clearly worried that their huge income will be decreased in the coming health care reforms in Congress.

Cleveland.com:

Some of Greater Cleveland's largest and strongest companies stand to lose money under the nation's current health reform proposals, and their top executives are keeping close tabs.

That's one message that emerged during a packed breakfast at the InterContinental Hotel Monday morning where more than 800 executives listened intently to a health reform panel sponsored by Ernst & Young and the Fedeli Group....

Oh, my. Don't you just feel so sorry for this poor health care executives? While they deny your coverage and cancel your insurance, they make millions of dollars in bonuses. Now they are whining because they may have to give up one of their country club memberships or vacation homes. Boo hoo.

Seriously. These insurance executives have made millions and millions of dollars off the backs of hardworking, premium paying people. I certainly have no sympathy for these executives who have gained money while people lost medical coverage, medicine, and life-saving surgery. Keep in mind that these health insurance executives, who never refuse a bonus, are supported by the Republican Party and their ilk. People die when they lose health insurance and medical coverage. Yet the Republicans shout, "Protect the insurance millionaires!"

Call your elected officials and tell them you want a public option with health insurance reform.

Monday's News

*** Is it possible that Ohio is turning more Democratic? Ohioans seem to be turning a deaf ear to the Ohio GOP's candidates. Case in point: John Kasich.

Cleveland Scene:

Sean Hannity was in Northeast Ohio recently for a high-dollar fundraiser for Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kasich, whose fundraising lags far behind Governor Ted Strickland’s. (You may have noticed us spotlighting some of Hannity's greatest hits).

Apparently, the Ohio Democratic Party was doing the same thing, and delicate little Sean didn’t like it one single bit, nosiree. So he took to the airwaves and did what offended righties always do: demanded an apology for what he called “stupid” and “humorless” smears.....

...We suspect that Hannity's fat head exploded when he caught wind of ODP executive director Doug Kelly’s statement:

The Ohio Democratic Party is indeed sorry that Sean Hannity is such a thin-skinned, tea-bagging blowhard who cares more about pumping up his ratings than helping pull America out of the ditch that he, John Kasich, and their fellow-right wingers drove our country into...

That is absolutely correct. The Republicans, the Bush and Taft administrations, pandered to Wall Street, banks, oil companies, and businesses, and created this massive financial mess we are experiencing. The Republicans have no solutions or alternative job-creating, health care reform legislation to offer. The GOP has NOTHING.

>>>>> A new sports training facility has opened North of I-270 on High Street.
Dispatch:

D1 Sports Training and Therapy is scheduled to open today at 8080 N. High St. on the Far North Side.

It is co-owned by former Ohio State University football standouts and current NFL players A.J. Hawk, Bobby Carpenter and Mike Vrabel, along with former Columbus Blue Jacket Jody Shelley.

The 18,500-square-foot facility has an indoor turf field, weight room and sports-therapy clinic with partner Sports Medicine Grant....

The new facility looks great. I'm sure many athletes will be visiting it for information and training.

Still More....

Politico has some info on Boehner's big money:

....Boehner (R-Ohio) shelled out an impressive $535,000 to the Republican National Congressional Committee -- most of it in the last two weeks of September, according to new federal disclosure reports.

Boehner's been on a fundraising tear of late, according to a GOP fundraising source, who estimates he's headlined over 100 events, raising more than $5 million for the NRCC and $3 million for individual candidates and party funds. He's also given more than $300k to sundry GOPers from his pet PAC Freedom Project.

The leader also beefed up his presence on Facebook, spending $3,570 in ads on the social networking site. Plus the Tan Man also knows how to throw a good party, spending $16,436 on greens fees for a golf fundraiser at the Wetherington Country Club back in Ohio in mid-July and another $8k for an an outing at the Firestone club in Akron.....

Yet Boehner claims to be the common man????? Sure.

>>>What have the teabaggers started in the Republican fold?

The Wall Street Journal:

The rise of conservative "tea party" activists around the country has created a dilemma for Republicans. They are breathing life into the party's quest to regain power. But they're also waging war on some candidates hand-picked by GOP leaders as the most likely to win....


Very interesting. The teabaggers have upset the Republican apple cart.

Eyes on the News

Ohio RealEstateRama has this story about U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15):

U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy voted to amend the home-buying provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to benefit active-duty service members and other federal employees. The Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act (H.R. 3590), which passed on October 8th by a unanimous vote of 416-0, would extend the $8,000 first-time homebuyer credit deadline by one year to individuals who served outside the U.S. for at least 90 days in 2009. The credit is currently scheduled to expire on November 30, 2009.

“We owe the men and women who protect our country overseas the same opportunities that we share here at home. This credit has helped thousands of Ohioans to purchase their own home,” said Kilroy. “I was proud to support The Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act which will give those who have been stationed or deployed overseas more time to take advantage of the program, while also helping our economy get back on track.”

The Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act would also ensure that service members will not be forced to repay the first-time homebuyer credit if they are called for overseas duty and forced to sell their home within three years of purchasing it.....

This is a great plan!


>>>> Looks like there is trouble within the GOP rank and file. While the rest of the country has moved toward the center, Republicans are heading for the extreeeeeeeeeeemeee right. With an election coming up to fill a U.S. House seat for New York, some GOPers don't like a moderate who has emerged.

The Hill:


....Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava, who backs abortion rights and has voiced support for gay rights, has drawn a challenger from the right who is running on the Conservative Party line. And though House leaders have urged conference members to donate, many have pointedly refused to back Scozzafava.

The Club for Growth, Concerned Women of America, former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) and evangelical leader Gary Bauer have all endorsed Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate.

The divide could foreshadow bigger troubles ahead for a party that hopes to make big gains in the House in 2010 and dreams of taking back the majority. Some members think that will be impossible as long as the party is divided over supporting centrist candidates.....


Looks like teabaggers and extremists are causing upset stomaches in the Republican Party.
With teabaggers and more conservative talk coming from Republicans, will Americans start to shun the GOP?

Boehner is Irrelevant

Here is your vocabulary lesson for the day:

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, the word "immutable" means not capable of or susceptible to change.

Now we see the word "immutable" in use in this CBS News story:

Last week, House Republican Leader John Boehner objected to House passage of a bill that would expand hate crime laws and make it a federal crime to assault people on the basis of their sexual orientation.

"All violent crimes should be prosecuted vigorously, no matter what the circumstance," he said. "The Democrats' 'thought crimes' legislation, however, places a higher value on some lives than others. Republicans believe that all lives are created equal, and should be defended with equal vigilance."

CBS News contacted Boehner's office for clarification and this is the response they received:

....In an email, Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith said Boehner "supports existing federal protections (based on race, religion, gender, etc) based on immutable characteristics."

Apparently, Boehner does not want to add sexual orientation to the list.

Shame on Boehner. Boehner and his ilk would rather protect banking institutions and his rich, pompous, lobbyist friends than real, caring human beings.

Just because Boehner is against it, doesn't mean that sexual orientation should be excluded from hate crime legislation. Boehner's beliefs do not represent middle America. Boehner is more aligned with the extreme right. His views are irrelevant.

In conclusion, ignore Boehner and add sexual orientation to the hate crimes legislation.

Still More Ohio Politics

* A story in the Dispatch reads: "Ruling Against Brunner Not Partisan, Court Says"

I doubt that people actually believe it. Dispatch:

Although some critics have detected a partisan flavor to the Ohio Supreme Court's ruling against Democratic Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and in favor of Republican state Sen. Jon Husted, the record shows otherwise, a court spokesman said yesterday.

Last Tuesday, Supreme Court justices ruled unanimously that Husted lives in his Dayton-area district for voting purposes, a rebuke to Brunner's contention that Husted actually lives in Upper Arlington.

All seven justices are Republicans.....

It is clear that Husted's residency problems will not go away, and Chris Redfern, Ohio Democratic Party Chair reiterates that. WHIO:

A unanimous Ohio Supreme Court ruling in favor of a Republican lawmaker whose residency was challenged will not end the dispute.

The high court said state Sen. Jon Husted does live in the Dayton-area district he represents and should continue to vote there.

But Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern says that voters still perceive that Husted spends too much time staying in Columbus and not enough time in Kettering. Democrats will also emphasize that the all-Republican court sided with a Republican....

I can just imagine people saying to themselves, "How can Husted question my residency when he doesn't live where he votes?" I guess Republicans subscribe to the belief that guidelines, and residency laws do not apply to them.

>>>> CQ Politics takes on Ohio politics, with a special look at Ohio's 15th district:

....In Ohio, Republican state Sen. Steve Stivers is certain that he’ll benefit from the gubernatorial candidacy of John Kasich, a former congressman from the Columbus area who briefly ran for president. Stivers lost to Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy by a mere 2,312 votes in 2008, when the presidential race boosted turnout among students and black voters across the Columbus-area 15th District....

...Democrats point out that they have a voter registration advantage in Kilroy’s district...

One thing that Stivers and other Republicans forget is that Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy has been hard at work in the House of Representatives writing bills and supporting legislation that helps homeowners, college students, our military, and the unemployed. She has not been helping people that Stivers likes---- bankers. Kilroy has strong support in central Ohio.

Just another day.....

* We went to the Columbus Italian Festival over the weekend. I think it is time for festival organizers to move the event to a location with more parking and more room to walk and sit. The size of the crowds and the problems with parking make the festival less attractive.

* The Street:

....President Obama's top economic adviser Larry Summers said in a letter to be sent to Republican House Leader John Boehner that thanks to government stimulus and programs, "we have walked a substantial distance back from the economic abyss ......."

Boehner isn't interested in listening to any news that shows that the President's plan is working.

* I find that the Bing search engine pop up feature that is embedded in some online articles completely annoying. Personally, if I want to do an internet search, I use Google 99.9999% of the time.


* Unfortunately, I did see part of the Today Show interview with Rush Limbaugh this morning. Since I try to keep this blog 'G' rated, the only way I can describe Limbaugh is with the following words: pompous, egotistical, foolish, racist, jerk. I can think of other words, but I hesitate to share them with you.

Friday!!!!!

****** President Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize.

* The Columbus Italian Festival will be held this weekend at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.

* The Toledo Blade has a grade editorial about Republican Jon Husted and his residency scandal:

JON Husted was correct when he said politics directed the fight over whether he qualifies to vote in the district he represents in the state Senate. But he should have looked in the mirror and to his Republican friends on Ohio's Supreme Court before assessing partisan blame.

Mr. Husted would like people to believe that the controversy over where he lives has been nothing but "a political witch hunt conducted by [Secretary of State] Jennifer Brunner." That is false. Questions about his residency have dogged the former Ohio House speaker for years, and the specific complaints that led to this investigation were lodged with the Montgomery County Board of Elections by ProgressOhio.org, a liberal advocacy group, and, tellingly, Regine Elliott, a Republican voter in Kettering, where Mr. Husted claims to reside.....

... Mr. Husted would be well advised to clean up his own house - if he remembers where it is - before casting aspersions on others.


There you have it!

Time to Get Moving!

> While Ohioans continue to lose their homes to foreclosure, a legislative bill that passed the Ohio House of Representatives remains collecting dust in the Republican controlled Ohio Senate. Here is an article from June 1, 2009, from the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

The Ohio Senate needs to get cracking on a House-passed residential foreclosure prevention bill co-authored by Rep. Mike Foley, a Democrat who represents Brook Park, Parma Heights and parts of Cleveland. The Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio describes the measure, which the House passed 54-43, as "a good, strong, fair and balanced bill." (Three House Republicans voted "yes" on the Foley bill, including Lyndhurst's Josh Mandel.)....

....The House committee that reviewed the Foley-Driehaus bill gave it a full airing, as did the full House in floor debate. The Senate need not reinvent the wheel. Ohio homeowners and Ohio neighborhoods need foreclosure relief now, not later. The Senate should act accordingly.

However, it appears that the Republicans in the Ohio Senate have tried to "...reinvent the wheel..." by stalling and putting together a different bill.

Cleveland.com:

With a foreclosure moratorium bill stalled in the Ohio Senate, a House lawmaker from Northeast Ohio is pitching an alternative approach that he hopes can gain bipartisan support.

State Rep. Matthew Dolan, a Russell Township Republican, rolled out his bill Tuesday, which would force borrowers and lenders to turn to mediation before a foreclosure action can be filed....

...House Speaker Armond Budish, a Beachwood Democrat, said he's disappointed the foreclosure bill has stalled and said Senate Republicans need to act on a critical problem in Ohio....

Seriously, what is the problem with the Republicans in the Ohio Senate? How many people lost their homes because Republicans did not think it was important enough for them to work on a bill that passed months ago?

***** Hilliard's Chief of Police, Rodney Garnett, has officially retired but not before his community said thanks. Columbus SuburbanNews:

...Garnett, 57, officially retired Friday, Oct. 2, and concluded his 34-year tenure with division.
Family, friends, city employees and police personnel all gathered at the Joint Safety Services Building Oct. 2 to recognize Garnett for his service....

....Norwich Township Trustee Mike Cope presented a clock to him and U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Columbus) presented him with a flag that had flown above the U.S. Capitol....

Congratulations Chief Garnett and thank you for your service!

===============

>>> Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi addressed a gathering on Tuesday and stated that health reform would be a significant benefit for women.

Medical News Today:

As the House prepares for floor debate on its health reform bill (HR 3200), Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday touted the legislation's benefits for women at a Capitol Hill press conference with the Feminist Majority Foundation and a few female members of Congress, CQ HealthBeat reports (Norman, CQ HealthBeat, 10/6). Other speakers at the event included Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal and Reps. Donna Edwards (D-Md.), Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Ohio), Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.).

Pelosi called health reform "especially necessary for women." She added, "In its totality, when we present the bill, and that will be soon, I think all Americans will see that this is very important legislation for individuals and families -- their health and well-being as well as their financial security" (Office of the Speaker of the House release, 10/6).

Pelosi said that less than 50% of women receive health insurance through their employers and that in the current individual insurance market, women can be charged 50% more than men for the same policies. She added that women are denied coverage in the individual market for pre-existing conditions like past caesarean sections or history of domestic violence. Women also are often denied maternity coverage and pay more in out-of-pocket costs, Pelosi noted.....

We need to contact our elected officials and tell them to get health reform signed, sealed, and delivered ASAP!

Late News

Cleveland.com:

State Sen. Jon Husted is indeed a Dayton-area resident for voting purposes, the Ohio Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Tuesday, overturning a decision by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.

Husted, a Republican lawmaker, spends most of his time living in suburban-Columbus where his wife owns a home and his oldest son is enrolled in high school....

...Husted appealed to the all-Republican state supreme court, which Tuesday sided with him...

The Ohio Supreme Court told Jennifer Brunner to make a decision on Husted, then they overturn her ruling. Does the Ohio Supreme Court work for Ohio or the GOP?

>>> Don't you just love Rep. Alan Grayson for his frankness?

TPMDC:

In an interview on the local radio show Doc & Grace in the Morning, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) explained that his comments about Republicans have been twisted into meaning that they somehow want Americans to die -- when the real truth is that they don't care.

"You know, this is being transmogrified into something else," Grayson complained. "Honestly, the people I deal with, the people I actually am across the aisle with every day, I don't think they care about ordinary people. I don't think that the Republicans in Congress actually have a heart. I'll be honest with you."

Love it!!!!!

Hype

*** Don't believe the hype from the right. As an example of the propaganda coming from Republicans, you need to look at some quotes in TheHill:

....Republican campaign efforts are “far ahead” of where they were the year before the party took back the House in 1994, the leader of the GOP’s midterm campaign efforts said Monday.

Rep. Pete Sessions (Texas) said that in such areas as fundraising and candidate recruitment, the House GOP’s 2010 election campaign is ahead of where the party was at the same point in the 1994 cycle. That was the year former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) led the Republican Revolution during the midterm election following former President Bill Clinton’s first two years in office....

....Still, taking over the House will be difficult. Republicans would have to win about 40 seats to gain a majority, depending on the results of a special election to replace Rep. John McHugh (R-N.Y.), who left his seat to become Army secretary.....

Obviously, the Republican claim for success is just gibberish. Everyone knows that the Republicans have become the party of "no-mongers," "birthers," "deathers," "teabaggers," racists, obstructionists, pro-war, anti-minority, anti-immigrant group. The Republicans haven't had a fresh idea in decades. Despite their big complaints about President Obama's health care reform, the Republicans have NO HEALTH PLAN of their own. None.

> To further show evidence of the Republican inability to move forward, I give you an example in today's Columbus Dispatch:

Senate President Bill Harris fired off a sharply worded letter to the governor yesterday saying that he wants to repeal the racetrack slot-machine language passed as part of the two-year budget in July and open any future slots plan to voters.

In a pointed response, a spokeswoman for Gov. Ted Strickland said he is not opposed to the request -- although she noted that Harris and other Senate Republicans originally had approved the slots language and haven't addressed the pending budget deficit now that slots are on hold....

I'm sure other Ohioans will see this move by Harris and the Ohio Republicans as a way to slow down any progress in the state. Instead of tackling current problems in the state, the Republicans want to waste time going back over some wording in a bill they already passed. As it stands now, the Republican dominated Ohio Senate is barely putting in a full week, and yet they want to slow down their work to a snail's pace.

Husted's Tax Dollar Give Away

It seems to me that Jon Husted, Republican candidate for Ohio Secretary of State, just doesn't like to play by the rules. Everyone knows about the continuing scandals surrounding Husted's residency. Husted represents Kettering but lives 99.99999% of the time in fancy Upper Arlington. Now Husted wants to give away millions and millions of dollars of your tax money to his friends and major contributors who own charter school businesses in the state. Husted, who has received tens of thousands of dollars from David Brennan, his family, and his charter schools businesses, wants to give away our precious tax dollars to Brennan and the rest of the charter school owners.

Dispatch:

....Sen. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, said Ohio also should remove "artificial roadblocks" for charter schools.
He introduced legislation last week, Senate Bill 180, to allow student performance to be linked to teacher evaluations, permit operators of high-performing charter schools to open new schools and remove the moratorium on new Internet or computer-based charter schools. The restrictions are no longer necessary as Ohio law now requires charter schools to close if their students fail to show improvement for three years, he said....

Husted has tried similar stunts in the past. Ohio taxpayers need to stop Husted from rewarding his rich charter school pals while he forgets about the majority of Ohio's children in public schools.

TGIF

Huffington Post has this little tidbit:

Sen. Lindsey Graham, (R-S.C.) offered unusually blunt assessments of the fringe elements of his party and conservative media on Thursday, calling the popular and bombastic Fox News host Glenn Beck a "cynic" whose show was antithetical to American values.

"Only in America can you make that much money crying," Graham said of Beck. "Glenn Beck is not aligned with any party. He is aligned with cynicism and there has always been a market for cynics. But we became a great nation not because we are a nation of cynics. We became a great nation because we are a nation of believers."

Appearing before a crowd of Washington's elite power players and opinion-makers, Graham spoke largely without filter, offering acidic takes on subject well beyond Beck. The Senator called the birther community that questions the president's U.S. citizenship "crazy" and implored them to "knock this crap off" so the country could get on to more important matters.....

OMG!!!! A Republican with courage?????

Last night on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, one of the "correspondents" interviewed some teabaggers on suggestions for the G20 demonstrators in Pittsburgh. The teabaggers all said that they got all of their news from Fox News. Frightening.

Who is working for change?

With the push on to get the 2016 Olympics to the U.S., some politicians (on the Republican side) are complaining.

ABC NEWS:

....In Washington, critics are panning Obama's decision to fly to Copenhagen Friday for a brief trip to persuade the judges that Chicago should be the next site.

"Now the president is going to go to Copenhagen when we've got serious issues here at home that need to be debated," House Minority Leader John Boehner told reporters Wednesday. "I think it's a great idea to promote Chicago, but he's the president of the United States, not the mayor of Chicago."

The president will be on the ground for merely three hours, long enough to headline the final presentation and make the final pitch to undecided IOC members, like Ung Chang, who has been an IOC member for the last 13 years....

I don't recall Boehner complaining that President Bush spent over one third of his Presidency on vacation. At least President Obama is doing something to try to stimulate jobs. Can anyone actually find a specific item that Boehner ever did that brought jobs to Ohio? Boehner continues to be part of the party of "NO!" and inactivity. Doing nothing yields nothing.

**** Rep. Alan Grayson has refused to apologize, according to the Washington Post:

House Republicans on Wednesday demanded an apology from Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) for saying from the floor of the chamber, "Republicans want you to die quickly," and brandishing a sign with a similar message....

I always thought that Republicans don't care about regular people, old people, students, and minorities. You don't have to strain your brain to think about the times that the Republicans have voted against Civil Rights, Voting Rights, health care for Children, the first Hispanic woman nominated for the Supreme Court, funding for education and college, etc., etc., etc. The GOP just doesn't care about people!