Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Where is the decency?


The talk about Gov. John Kasich's JobsOhio continues.
ToledoBlade:


...State Rep. Michael Ashford (D., Toledo) and Lucas County Treasurer Wade Kapszukiewicz, speaking at the Lucas County Democratic Party headquarters in downtown Toledo, attacked the privately run development board as providing financial benefits to the board's own members and even to the governor himself.

"JobsOhio is mired in scandal and it isn't working," Mr. Ashford said. Mr. Kapszukiewicz said, "Governor Kasich and the board [of JobsOhio] need to come clean and immediately disclose any other conflicts of interest they have."

We're supposed to take Kasich at his word that nothing improper has been done with JobsOhio.   What ever happened to transparency?
********

>>> Plunderbund reminds us that Republican Rep. Steve Stivers, as a member of the Ohio Senate, sponsored a bill that would punish rape victims.
Plunderbund:

In late 2004 Republicans in the Ohio legislature passed Senate Bill 80, putting a cap on noneconomic damages in civil cases.   Under the law, juries are not able to award more than $500,000 to victims for things like severe pain or physical and emotional distress.

The bill was sponsored by now-Congressman Steve Stivers.  The co-sponsors included many familiar names from today’s General Assembly including Jay Hottinger, Lynn Wachtmann, Chris Widener, Ron Amstutz, Keith Faber and Kirk Schuring.   All have since switched from the Senate to the House or vice versa....

.....In Saturday’s Dispatch we learned about the type of “frivolous lawsuits” Senate Bill 80 is actually curbing: a women raped multiple times by her pastor when she was 15 was awarded $3.6 million in damages by a jury, but the amount was cut to $500,000 because of the limits imposed by SB 80....

Stivers and his Republican colleagues made it impossible for victims to be compensated for the pain and suffering.  As Plunderbund notes, "...Stivers knew the bill would punish victims of rape and sexual violence...."

Stivers and his Republican buddies just don't care.