You Are Nothing But Noise to Kasich

This is another reason why I don't watch Morning Joe----
       John Kasich could show up as a guest and ruin my whole day!

Someone at ThinkProgress watched the Morning Joe program (thank goodness!) and this is what they heard.


ThinkProgress:

....this morning on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Kasich pretended that the opposition to his signature piece of legislation was no big deal, saying with all sincerity that “there was no drama” in his first six months as governor:

KASICH: What’s driven my negatives up is the fact that we’re trying to rein in and give local communities the abilities to control their costs with public employees… So it’s just protesters and noise. But when it comes to the budget, no protests, no noise, and we got it through. And got through virtually all of what we really wanted.

Watch it:

The people of Ohio, however, disagree. Not only do big majorities support repealing SB 5, they also oppose his budget. As for Kasich himself, polls have shown that if Ohioans could have a do-over of 2010, when he defeated former Gov. Ted Strickland (D), they’d hand him a 25-point defeat. Of course, to Kasich, that’s all just noise.

Do you think that Kasich is living in a bubble, only watches Fox News, and reads the far right Dispatch?  I think so. When you are as closed-minded and as arrogant as Kasich, you just don't give a damn about regular, hardworking, ordinary Ohioans.  In his own unique way, John Kasich has dismissed the concerns of Democrats, working people, teachers, firefighters, police officers, nurses employed in state facilities, public employees, people who opposed cuts to schools and nursing homes, and anyone that raised his or her voice against the draconian cuts he and the Ohio Republicans put into their budget.

Now you can understand why 1.3 million signatures were collected to support the referendum to repeal SB 5.   Ohioans have had enough.  By repealing SB 5, Ohioans will take the air out of the Kasich agenda.

It Has Started....

Because of the draconian cuts made to education in Ohio by Gov. Kasich and his Republican minions in the the Ohio House and Senate, we are already hearing about personnel cuts in various school districts.

Middletownjournal:

...In Middletown, more than 60 reductions have contributed to what has been projected to be thousands of education jobs to be lost in Ohio during current budget cycle. District officials say only six teachers needed to be laid off this year because of a successful early retirement incentive package which was accepted by more than 50 educators. This opened the door to reducing positions by means of attrition....

...He said that in Middletown’s case, reductions will not impact class offerings. What is inevitable, however, is that more kids will populate those classes....

SNPonline details the layoffs at Canal Winchester Schools:

....In April, the board slashed $3.7 million from its budget and implemented a series of cost-saving measures in order to balance its budget.

As a result of the cuts, nearly 52 teachers, staff and administrators lost their jobs and a pay-to-participate fee structure, which increases fees to $300 in the 2011-2012 school year; $450 in 2012-2013, and $600 in the 2013-2014, was implemented......

But don't worry!  Bob Evans got a millions of dollars in tax breaks to move across Interstate 270!  American Greetings, Marathon Oil, and others are also rolling in the tax breaks.

Indiana Turnpike Not Such A Good Deal for Investors

Businessweek has the bad news for Gov. Kasich:

Eleven million trucks. That’s how many 18-wheelers needed to rumble across northern Indiana in 2010 for the state’s 157-mile toll road to break even. Unfortunately, only about half that many did and the road came up $209 million short. This sounds like the beginning of yet another story about recession-ravaged states bleeding cash. And it is, sort of. The twist is that the Indiana Toll Road is managed not by the state but by a group of corporate investors, part of a public-private partnership experiment intended to show how businesses can help government run more efficiently and save taxpayers money—all while turning a profit.....

....Now five years old, the Indiana deal has yet to turn a profit, or break even. Two overseas companies—Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, a unit of Madrid-based Ferrovial, and Macquarie Infrastructure Partners, an investment fund managed by Macquarie Group (MQG) of Sydney, won the right to run the road with a daring $3.8 billion bid—$1 billion more than the next-highest offer....

....Even so, the poor results could dampen enthusiasm for similar projects elsewhere. In Ohio, which faces a budget shortfall of as much as $8 billion over two years, lawmakers are considering a bill that would give Republican Governor John Kasich the authority to seek a sale or lease of the Ohio Turnpike. Kasich has optimistically suggested the road might be worth $3 billion. Given the way things are going next door, he may have a hard time finding takers willing to plunk down that kind of cash.

Not only will Ohio's drivers find higher tolls on a privately owned turnpike, but the quality of the road repairs will suffer.


Here is another view on Kasich's plan to sell off state assets. Kitsapsun:

....Intent on reducing the size of government, the state of Ohio wants to sell six prisons, thousands of parking meters, the Ohio Turnpike, its liquor sales business which brings in $230 million a year in profits and public college dorms and athletic facilities.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich says he wants not just a temporary infusion of cash but privatization of state services. (Never mind that when Chicago sold its parking meters, the cost of parking soared.) Kasich argues that in many cases private businesses do a better job than public employees......

....If a state or city sells a popular park, are there assurances that it will remain available for public use, be well maintained and protected from development? Will there be entrance fee that keeps people out? Once public land is sold, it's gone.....

Did you know that Kasich wanted to sell public college dorms and athletic facilities?  Will you son or daughter go to college and live in the Walmart dorm or the Lehman Brothers dorm, or perhaps the Stay-free Maxi pad dorm?

You May Need to Sit Down for This!

>>>>  There is an interesting post at vxec.com about Republican governors that continue to pick on teachers.  VXEC.com:

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, blasted critics of teachers' unions Monday, claiming Republican governors have been trying to break apart a natural coalition of teachers and parents to fundamentally change the quality of life in their states.

With the major education cuts and attempts to eliminate collective bargaining rights in 2011, Weingarten said she's seen "greater ferocity" than ever before in opposition to educators from people like Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.) and Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) under the "guise of the budget."

"Let's refuse to be defined by people who are happy to lecture us about the state of public education but wouldn't last 10 minutes in a classroom," Weingarten, head of one of the nation's largest teachers' unions, told a large crowd at the annual national AFT conference.....

 How true!  These Republican governors don't have the guts to work in some of the schools some of us have.  Besides, they would never want to put in the time and effort in planning a school day because they are so accustomed to delegating the hard work to someone else.  Teachers give up so much to help their students learn and grow.  It is a shame that teachers are being disrespected by these right wing extremist governors. 

****************

*The Kasich budget is going to be hurting schools big time.  While Gov. Kasich gives your tax money away to businesses, our schools will be losing millions of dollars.  Yet Kasich and the Ohio Republicans expect schools to perform better than they've done in the past.
Ha!


Dispatch:

When the dust settled on the new state budget, operating funds for Ohio schools were cut nearly $780 million for the next two years, with 17 central Ohio districts facing reductions that top 10 percent this school year.....

.....Only 17 of Ohio's 612 districts will get more operating money in 2013 than in 2011....

According to the image below, Olentangy Schools, one of the fastest growing districts in the state, will lose 24.3% for the 2011-2012 school year, and 22% for 2012-2013.  That is a real kick in the pants.

(from the Dispatch)

The Dispatch article also has this:
....Schools were among those cut as Gov. John Kasich and GOP lawmakers dealt with a significant budget shortfall resulting from the use of more than $8 billion in one-time money to balance the previous two-year budget, which ended June 30....

However, Plunderbund has information that about that budget deficit, that questions the Kasich numbers:

With the Kasich budget beginning on July 1st, let’s not forget that means the Strickland budget ended on June 30th.  So, according to John Kasich’s own OBM director, what did the State end up with at the end of the last Strickland budget:

$973 million surplus.

Wait, shouldn’t that be $8 billion in the red?  We kept hearing about what a horrible fiscal shape the Strickland Administration left Ohio in, but when it’s all said and done, the Strickland Administration left such a large surplus that the State came in with revenues 5.8% larger than projected when it was passed the last Strickland budget back in June of 2009.  At the time, Republicans called Strickland’s budget director’s projections too optimistic and unreliable.  If anything, the Strickland Administration underestimated the recovery that began in earnest in early 2010.

In fact, Gongwer reports that the Strickland surplus even exceeded Mr. Keen’s projections when he started working on Kasich’s first budget.  On tax receipts alone, the State took in nearly $1.5 billion more than it expected… during the height of the recession and the first year thereafter.....

Is it possible that Kasich and the Dispatch lied to Ohioans? Read the rest of the Plunderbund article and decide for yourself. 

****  One last thing--- Kasich is still failing on diversity.  His latest appointments to his JobsOhio boondoggle is mostly white males.

Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

>>>>  Looks like the Republicans are having some tantrums in the current budget talks.  Here is what Sen. Schumer had to say about the Republican negotiators in TheHill:

"They walked out on everything," he said. "They walked out on the Simpson-Bowles, they walked on the Group of Six, they walked out on the Biden talks, and they just walked out on the president's grand deal. This idea that both sides are to blame … the president put on the table some terribly painful things; Democrats didn't walk out."

Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. When will the Republicans grow up to face reality?  Boehner and Cantor are more interested in helping billionaires, and saving tax cuts for private jet owners than protecting Social Security and Medicare for retired grandmas and grandpas. Shame on the Republicans!


*** Business First:

Gov. John Kasich has tapped some big hitters from Ohio’s corporate scene to serve as board members for JobsOhio, the new private, nonprofit entity that will direct state government’s economic development efforts.....

• Mark Kvamme, partner, Sequoia Capital , and Kasich’s director of jobs creation.

• Bob McDonald, CEO of Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG).

• Gary Heminger, CEO of Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC).

• Steven Davis, CEO, Bob Evans (NASDAQ:BOBE).

• James Boland, retired vice chairman of Ernst & Young LLP and former CEO of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Gund Arena Co. He will serve as the board’s chairman.

• Dr. Martin Harris, chief information officer of the Cleveland Clinic .

• Pam Springer, CEO of Manta Media Inc., a Columbus-based provider of online business listings.....

Gov. Kasich provided super tax breaks for some on this list, and now he appoints them to a special board that uses tax money.

Dispatch reported the following-----

....Bob Evans also was offered an incentive package from the state that includes a research-and-development investment loan of $3 million; a job-creation tax credit of $2.4 million; a research-and-development investment-tax credit of $1.05 million; a roadwork-development (629) account (to Columbus) for $750,000; a rapid-outreach grant of $250,000; and a work-force guarantee of $250,000, said Bethany McCorkle, a Development Department spokeswoman.....

Dispatch reported about Marathon's tax credit gift from Kasich-----

...Marathon Petroleum will get a 75 percent, 15-year job retention tax credit from the state to keep its 1,650 employees in Findlay and a 60 percent, 10-year job creation tax credit the company says will allow it to hire 100 new employees.

The company also will benefit from an interpretation of Ohio's commercial activity tax included in the state's transportation budget exempting exchanges or transfers of gasoline from the tax.....

There is an expression that is similar to this----"I'll scratch your back, if you scratch mine."  It looks like Kasich and Kwamme are looking for some returns. Will members of this board get bonuses as Kasich originally proposed?

_____________

****  Even though Josh Mandel says he is focused on his job as Ohio Treasurer, people know that his activities in campaigning, fundraising, and recent attacks on Sen. Sherrod Brown, demonstrate his lack of interest in his current job.  Josh Mandel wants to run against Sen. Sherrod Brown, even though he won't admit it.

What kind of a legislator was Mandel?  According to Votesmart.org, Mandel voted against HB 9: Tenants Protection During Foreclosure:

-Requires a landlord to notify tenants within sixty days after a foreclosure action is filed that the property may be sold at auction. The landlord must also notify tenants of the date, time and place of the sale at least twenty-one days in advance (Sec. 1).

-Mandates that any rental agreement for a residential property that has been sold under a foreclosure action shall convert to a month-to-month rental agreement. To terminate this agreement, written notification must be provided 30 days before the date on which the rent payment is normally due (Sec. 1).

Josh Mandel is against tenants being given fair treatment if the property they are renting is sold, or in foreclosure, and possibly up at auction?????  Doesn't Mandel care about renters and their families?  Does he prefer that families be kicked out without notice and become homeless?

Where does Mandel stand on SB 5?  He still has not stated.  I don't think that Ohioans will vote for someone who refuses to verify whether they support this controversial bill. 

Josh Mandel's Problems

It appears that Josh Mandel, the guy who doesn't really want to be Ohio Treasurer, is calling in some help to get his run for the U.S. Senate going.  For an being an unannounced candidate, he certainly has been busy.   Here is a list of problems that Mandel has already stacked up for himself (courtesy of OhioDems):

Following numerous missteps by Ohio’s ethically-challenged and newly-elected Treasurer Josh Mandel, George Bush’s political strategist Karl Rove has slithered into Ohio to launch an attack ad against Sherrod Brown. Setting aside the fact that Karl Rove and his Bush administration henchman have absolutely zero credibility when it comes to deficits and spending, what could possibly have national Republicans in such a panic about Josh Mandel?

• Is it the fact that his entire campaign begins with a broken promise? After all, Ohio Treasurer candidate Josh Mandel promised Ohioans just a few months ago that he would “definitely serve” the full four years of his term.

• Perhaps it’s when Josh got caught red-handed using taxpayer dollars to promote himself, even going as far as violating Federal Election law by paying for campaign content with Ohio tax dollars.

• There’s always a chance that it was the two weeks of silence about the complaint followed by Mandel’s spokesperson calling the complaint “baseless” despite the fact Mandel’s campaign altered his website in a stunning admission of wrong-doing.

• Of course, there’s also Mandel’s reluctance to take a stand on important issues, consistently refusing to answer questions from the press relating to the Republican plan to end Medicare as we know it, Democratic efforts to lower the deficit by ending tax breaks for big oil, or why (after 4 months of dodging) he supports the highly-unpopular Ohio Senate Bill.

• And don’t forget Mandel’s primary opponent Kevin Coughlin whose campaign is ramping up with criticism of Mandel’s numerous out of state fundraising trips, broken promise to Ohio, and lack of focus on the Treasurer’s office.

• But our money’s on the fact that Mandel refuses to follow simple rules like filing a Personal Financial Disclosure report, with his campaign admitting it will be forced to pay a penalty as a result....

I honor his military service, but his work in elected office is really not much to brag about at all.  Mandel was a lightweight in the Ohio General Assembly having only a couple of bills under his belt.  Now he finds himself in a job that he hates.  I also find it interesting that Mandel went to law school but has yet to take the law boards. 

Still Not Running?

Republican Josh Mandel who has just been in office since January, appears off and running for the U.S. Senate even though he has not made a formal announcement.  According to the Vindicator, Mandel had a fundraiser at the Salem Golf Club:

Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, a Republican, is to attend a private event at noon today at the Salem Golf Club to raise money for his likely entry into the 2012 U.S. Senate race.

About 40 to 50 people, including area political and business leaders, will be there, said Dave Johnson, the Columbiana County Republican Party chairman, who is co-hosting the event.

Tickets range from $250 to $5,000......

Sounds like a pretty expensive lunch!  Did anyone ask Mandel his views on SB 5?  How did Mandel happen to be in Columbiana County and so far away from his office in Columbus?

Job Losses?

***   The Kasich budget is already changing things in Dayton, according to the text of a speech given by Dayton's city manager and published in  Dayton Daily News.
Some of the cuts include less fire fighters per shift, a smaller police recruit class, reduction of ambulance staffing/equipment from Advanced Life Support to Basic Life Support, end the senior citizen property tax credit, begin a special assessment to pay for street lights, change in trash and recycling pickup, etc., etc., etc.  For the complete list, visit the DaytonDaily News link.

Budget cuts will alter everything in every city, county, village in the state of Ohio.  But don't worry!  Kasich is giving away free money to failing charter schools, corporations that move across town, and others.  I'm so glad I can proudly say---

I didn't vote for Kasich!

By the way, Dayton residents and others have these things in their future-----

...if your house is on fire and the fire response time is longer than expected with less firefighters, thank Gov. Kasich.....

...if your parent/spouse is having a heart attack and an ambulance with no firefighters and basic life saving equipment responds, your loved one might not survive. Thank Gov. Kasich....

...if your child comes home from school and says that he/she has to share a math book and there are 50 kids in his/her class, you can thank Gov. Kasich......

...if grandma and grandpa are thrown out of a nursing home, you have to quit your job to take care of them in your home, you can thank Gov. Kasich.......

....if filthy water drifts into your well or city water because of fracking, you know you can thank Gov. Kasich......



>>> Even though Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) says he is bringing jobs to Ohio while he spends our tax dollars in the form of free money to friendly corporations, we haven't seen much in real job development.  While Kasich flies around the state pompously bragging about the paltry jobs he has brought into the state, Ohio's middle class has not seen much.  If only corporate bosses get bonuses and regular people are getting layoff notices, Kasich's budget and operating procedures should make anyone suspicious.

The Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services (ODJFS) provides a WARN list for those companies planning layoffs. 

ODJFS provides the WARN list from January 2011 to the present:

Current WARN Notices
07/06/2011

Date Rec'd	Company	City (County)	Number Affected	Layoff Date(s)	Phone Number	Union	WARN ID
07/06/2011	Nexergy, Inc.	Columbus (Franklin)	120	09/04/2011	(614) 351-6210	N/A	011-11-002
07/05/2011	Franklin Boxboard Corp.	Franklin (Warren)	81	08/28/2011	(908) 276-4000 ext.251	USWA	012-11-001
06/30/2011	Gates, McDonald & Co./Nationwide Better Health	Solon (Cuyahoga)	68	08/29/2011	(614) 677-3666	N/A	003-10-067
06/16/2011	Treasury and Security Services (JPMorgan Chase & Co.)	Cincinnati (Hamilton)	118	11/15/2011	(212) 552-1854	N/A	013-10-066
06/15/2011	Shiloh Industries, Inc.(Mansfield Blanking Plant)	Mansfield (Richland)	87	Between 08/19/2011 & 09/2/2011	(419) 525-9268	USW Local 7679	010-10-065
06/14/2011	Huron Hospital	East Cleveland (Cuyahoga)	915	Between 08/15/2011 & 10/07/2011	(216) 761-4269	SEIU District 1199	003-10-064
06/10/2011	Boeing Company	Heath (Licking)	60	07/22/2011	(206) 662-6336	N/A	007-10-063
06/08/2011	GENCO ATC	Marion (Marion)	58	08/07/2011	(740) 383-7102	N/A	007-10-062
05/27/2011	Flextronics Americas LLC	Columbus (Franklin) Cincinnati (Hamilton) Various (Various)	113	08/31/2011	(704) 509-8296	N/A	011-10-061
05/27/2011	Gates, McDonald & Co./Nationwide Better Health	Columbus (Franklin)	181	Between 07/31/2011 & 10/28/2011	(614) 677-3666	N/A	011-10-060
05/19/2011	HearUSA, Inc.	Dublin (Franklin)	10	Between 07/16/2011 & 07/30/2011	(561) 478-8770 ext. 134	N/A	011-10-059
05/16/2011	CEVA Logistics US, Inc.	West Chester (Butler)	194	Begin 06-03-2011 until 10-13-2011	(513) 644-1700	N/A	012-10-058
05/13/2011	PCCW Teleservices Inc	Marietta (Washington)	74	Between 07/13/2011 & 07/26/2011	(614) 280-1600 ext. 3008	N/A	015-10-057
05/11/2011	Amherst Hospital	Amherst (Lorain)	50 to 60	07/11/2011	(440) 329-7508	N/A	004-10-056
05/10/2011	BAE Systems	Fairfield (Butler)	125	07/08/2011	(513) 881-9888	N/A	012-10-055
5/6/2011	Kurz-Kasch, Inc.	Miamisburg (Montgomery)	56	04/28/2011	(937) 560-2654	N/A	007-10-054
05/04/2011	The Kroger Company	Columbus (Franklin)	91	07/10/2011	(614) 898-3555	UFCW Local 1059	011-10-053
05/02/2011	Cognis Corporation	Cincinnati (Hamilton)	108	07/01/2011	(513) 482-2436	N/A	013-10-052
04/29/2011	Travelers Advantage Services, Inc.	Westerville (Franklin)	81	Begin 06/27/2011 until 12/31/2011	(203) 956-8006	N/A	011-10-051
04/25/2011	ARAMARK	Cleveland (Cuyahoga)	135	06/15/2011	(800) 999-8989	N/A	003-10-050
04/22/2011	Graphic Packaging International, Inc.	Cincinnati (Hamilton)	222	Begin 06/21/2011 until 12/31/2011	(770) 795-3819	USW	013-10-049
04/15/2011	Palmetto GBA	Columbus (Franklin)	92	June 17, 2011	(614) 473-6555	N/A	011-10-048
04/01/2011	Sodexo, Inc.	Lewis Center (Delaware)	82	May 31, 2011	(630) 810-1144	N/A	007-10-047
03/14/2011	International Brake Industries, Inc.	Lima (Allen)	153	Between 05/09/2011 & 06/03/2011	(419) 227-4421	UAW Local 975	007-10-046
03/9/2011	Worthington Steel	Middletown (Butler)	79	05/07/2011	(513) 539-9291	USWA	012-10-045
03/4/2011	M & M Restaurant Supply	Springfield (Clark)	171	05/01/2011	(513) 773-2315	IBT Local 957	007-10-044
03/2/2011	Influent	Marietta (Washington)	135	Between 05/02/2011 & 05/15/2011	(614) 280-1600 ext. 3008	N/A	015-10-043
02/23/2011	Kmart #3784	Fremont (Sandusky)	133	04/29/2011	(847) 286-1427	N/A	007-10-042
02/14/2011	WellPoint, Inc.(Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield)	Youngstown (Mahoning)	51	04/15/2011 & 05/31/2011	(330) 783-3723	N/A	017-10-041
02/10/2011	Therma-Tru Corporation	Archbold (Fulton)	79	04/01/2011	(800) 322-8688	N/A	007-10-040
03/24/2011	Cooper Standard Automotive, Inc.	Bowling Green (Wood)	200	04/05/2011	(419) 353-2500	USW Local 1152L	007-10-039
01/31/2011	Premier Manufacturing Corporation	Cleveland (Cuyahoga)	100	03/28/2011	(216) 941-9700	USW Local 48U	003-10-038
01/28/2011	Exel	Streetsboro (Portage)	69	04/02/2011	(614) 409-3757	IBT Local 507	019-10-037
01/28/2011	Kmart	Medina (Medina)	184	03/26/2011	(847) 286-1427	N/A	002-10-036
01/27/2011	YRC Enterprise Services, Inc.	Akron (Summit)	71	03/31/2011 until 5/31/2011	(330) 643-6929	N/A	002-10-035
01/27/2011	USEC	Piketon (Pike)	500	03/28/2011 until 4/11/2011	(740) 897-5843	USWA Local 689	001-10-034
01/07/2011	Sears Holdings Corporation	Akron (Summit)	85	04/03/2011	(847) 286-2500	N/A	002-10-033
01/05/2011	Kmart	Hamilton (Butler)	79	03/27/2011	(847) 286-1427	N/A	012-10-032
01/03/2011	Xpress Loan Servicing (CIT Group Inc.)	Cleveland(Cuyahoga)Cincinnati (Hamilton)	139	Begin 03/08/2011 until 09/30/2011	(216) 706-7440	N/A	003-10-031

The Sad Facts

>>>>  Did you know that the Paul Ryan plan to kill Medicare will also hurt our veterans?
 Votevets has the details:

...This plan will also punish veterans - harshly - and it's important that you spread the word on how it will do so.....

• Veterans who rely on Medicaid would not escape cuts either. The Republican plan could slash $1.4 trillion in health benefits over the next ten years. Forty-four states are already facing significant budget shortfall in Fiscal Year 2012,and the cuts could force the state to either ration health care benefits for veterans across the country, restrict eligibility rules and leave thousands uninsured, including veterans, or raise taxes to cover the shortfall.

• Finally, many veterans rely on private insurance, mostly through their employer. Because Republicans want to repeal the recent health insurance law, these veterans will no longer have guaranteed access to health insurance regardless of pre-existing conditions and may see annual or lifetime caps on coverage under the Republican budget.....

Visit Votevets to get the full story on how Paul Ryan's plan to abolish Medicare will hurt our veterans too.

***  Mother Jones has an article about the Kasich/Republican bill, SB 5.  The article explains what some teachers will face, and in particular, the public school teacher interviewed by the writer.

Mother Jones:

 ....Here's what's troublesome for her in the budget: a requirement that schools receiving federal Race to the Top grants ditch their longstanding experience- and education-based pay system in favor of an alternative, like merit-based pay. Erin's school is a Race to the Top school. While she signed on to her job with the impression that her future salary level would be guaranteed by a predetermined schedule, this provision means cash-strapped school administrators could decide that, based on some as-yet-to-be-determined criteria, her salary should be $10,000 or $20,000 less than it currently is. Normally, Erin's union could likely prevent any arbitrary salary changes or advocate on her behalf. But the Ohio legislature recently passed Senate Bill 5, a Wisconsin-y anti-collective-bargaining law that will render her union effectively powerless......

.....The organizers needed about 230,000 to get the SB 5 repeal on the ballot. They got 1,298,301. "We can't guarantee anything," said a spokeswoman for We Are Ohio, the campaign driving the effort, "but we're confident with the amount of signatures we've collected that we have a lot of support on our side."

 Despite the fact that we will get the referendum on the ballot, we still cannot assume that everyone that supports the repeal will be able to cast a vote.  With the new roadblocks to voting instituted by the Ohio Republicans, many voters could be turned away, and prevented from voting for the repeal.

****************

****  Republican Rep. Steve Stivers (OH-15th), a former bank lobbyist, is doing his part to dismantle the banking regulations legislation that were passed after the Wall Street meltdown in 2008 and 2009.  Stivers, who appears allergic to banking regulations, environmental regulations, and laws protecting Medicaid, has even sponsored legislation that tears apart laws put in place to protect consumers against unscrupulous bankers.  Stivers, and some other Republicans, are being rewarded for their efforts.

BNET:

Although Goldman Sachs (GS) has long advanced its interests by stuffing money in politicians’ pockets, it has historically stepped more lightly in directly shaping public policy. No more. With government regulators now crafting hundreds of rules to implement the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, the investment bank is building a powerful lobbying arm in Washington.....

......Goldman has recently steered much of its giving to newly elected House Republicans, for instance, while other banks have also stepped up their contributions. The freshmen, who include lawmakers such as Reps. Michael Grim, R-N.Y., David Schweikert, R-Ariz., and Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, have duly sponsored bills to weaken Dodd-Frank. That alliance between incoming legislators, especially ones hailing from key electoral districts, and deep-pocketed financial firms is being directed by top GOP officials, notes one prominent Republican operative......

What a surprise! Not!  You send a former bank lobbyist to Congress and he gets friendly contributions from bankers and bank lobbyists!!!!! What did you expect?  Where are the jobs he was going to deliver? Anyone?  Anyone?


* Did you know that some Republicans who are interested in cutting Medicaid and giving tax cuts to the rich, also receive farm subsidies from the federal government???? The EWG Farm Subsidy Database has details:

Jean D. Schmidt of Milford, Ohio (Republican Rep. OH-2):  William White Farm
Robert B. Gibbs of Lakeville, Ohio (Republican Rep. OH-18): Hidden Hollow Farm


Check to see if someone you know in government is receiving a farm subsidy:
http://farm.ewg.org/search.php?fips=00000&regionname=UnitedStatesFarmSubsidySummary

****  Rachel Maddow just cited an NBC Wall Street News poll that shows that 81% of Americans support a millionaire surtax. Take that, John Boehner.

>>>>  Is anyone else bothered by the fact that Republicans swear allegiance to Grover Norquist, a person with no government ties?  Why are they so afraid of him?

Not Running? Baloney!

Ohio's latest unannounced candidate, Josh Mandel, seems to have had some additional activity on his behalf.  A recent search at the FEC website, shows that the Senate Conservatives Fund has made some expenditures to support Candidate ID: S2OH00170 (Josh Mandel) for rental of email lists, and online processing fees (see Schedule E for Report FEC-732982).

The Youngstown Vindicator has this about Mandel's political experience:

....He served three years as a Lyndhurst city councilman, and four years in the Ohio House.

During his Oct. 6, 2010, endorsement meeting with The Vindicator, Mandel touted his record in the Legislature.

But during further questioning, he admitted he was the lead sponsor or main co-sponsor on only four or five bills, none of which were ever enacted into law....

We are still waiting to hear whether Mandel supports the provisions in SB 5.  When will he respond to questions?

Merit Pay and Charter Schools Don't Work

Daily Kos has some interesting information on merit pay and the failure of charter schools:

...Besides the stick of firing teachers who perform poorly, education "reformers" have put great hopes in merit pay, both as a means of recruiting superior teachers into the profession or enticing superior performing from existing teachers. New York City, under Mayor Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, put $75 million into a system of merit pay bonuses, only to find that thescheme showed negligible impact on any indicator; similar results were found in a Nashville experiment.

The problem here is that education "reformers" are working from a narrow neoclassical conception of human motivations - pay people more and they work harder, because human beings are rational, self-interested hedonists in  Econ 101. In reality, things are more complex. As the Federal Reserve found out when they studied the empirical results of merit-based pay systems, this kind of incentive only works with simple tasks and in cognitive tasks, has a negative impact on performance.....


....Stanford University's 2009 study of charter schools found that "17 percent of charter schools reported academic gains that were significantly better than traditional public schools, while 37 percent of charter schools showed gains that were worse than their traditional public school counterparts, with 46 percent of charter schools demonstrating no significant difference." In other words, all other things being equal, if we were to replace every public school with a charter school, academic gains would decline by as much as 20%.....

Of course, the Kasich administration won't admit to any of this because, as Kasich said during the campaign, he wants to "break the back of teachers unions."


***** Plunderbund has a great column called, "Republican teachers are now extinct."

Kasich Troubled by Partisan Politics and Ohio Constitution

In a press conference, Gov. Kasich seemed to gloat over his win with the Ohio budget.  Most officials having a press conference would stand behind a podium.  Kasich, in keeping with his brash style, rude, pompous style, sat back in a big leather chair in front of the media and supporters. As he was speaking, Gov. Kasich attacked those on the other side----Democrats and hardworking, middle class Ohioans.

MarionStar:

"This isn't about an assault on anybody," Kasich said during an event at his official residence in Bexley to tout passage of the state's almost $56 billion, two-year budget. "This is about making things work in Ohio and not being a god-darned 1920s state that is falling behind and getting crushed economically."

Kasich lamented what he sees as increasing partisanship in the country, even as he singled out the party that opposes his efforts.....

"Driving Mark Kvamme out of the Department of Development was one of the most irresponsible things I've ever seen in my political career," he said. "Why'd they do that? Constitutional issues? I know the press can tend to be a little cynical. Maybe you ought to think about that, why they did it. It's disrupting, and we're not going to let them disrupt the agenda of helping Ohio recover."

----- Want to know what I think???????

Gov. Kasich has demonstrated his disdain for the middle class workers in Ohio.

"This isn't about an assault on anybody"?????  When he said that he wanted to "break the backs" of teachers unions, I felt assaulted, and so did every public school teacher in the state.

Those comments about Mark Kwamme and the Ohio Constitution don't sit well with citizens.  Just because Kasich thinks he is a wealthy big shot,  doesn't excuse him from obeying the Ohio Constitution.

BusinessWeek (December 10, 2010): 


...Kasich said "low-hanging fruit" like union protections and prison reforms should have been plucked long ago to curb Ohio's tax burden.

He said he opposes paying union-scale prevailing wages on public job sites, doesn't think public employees should have the right to strike, and opposes using binding arbitration to resolve contract disputes involving police officers and firefighters.....


Attacking Progress Ohio and Democrats was not appropriate. While he appeared like he was gloating, and bragging, he hit back at anyone that questioned his actions.  Progress Ohio, Democrats, lawyers, teachers, firefighters, police officers, state employees, and Ohio Constitution experts will let him know when he messes up again----which will be any minute.


Every citizen in Ohio will remember when Gov. Kasich called a police officer an "idiot" for pulling him over for a violation.
YouTube:




In the article in the Marion Star, Gov. Kasich said that he would "charm" the opposition.  The charm offensive will not work.  It is very difficult to follow a leader who continuously belittles you, calls you names, denies you your rights, has no respect for your work or education, said he wanted to "break the back" of your group, and has no interest in even talking to you.  The time for "charm" is over.

Their Motives

>Republicans in Congress continue to protect tax cuts for oil companies, millionaires, billionaires, owners of private jets, and other groups. Those on Medicare and those of us soon to be on Medicare, are worried that our future will nosedive so that Republicans can guarantee to provide tax cuts for their buddies and contributors.  Why are Republicans promoting their ideology and politics?  It might be best summed up by something that Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell said on October 25, 2010.

PoliticalWire:

"The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president."

-- Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), in an interview with the National Journal, describing his goal in retaking the Senate. 


Did you notice that McConnell did not say that he wanted to achieve total employment or economic growth or a healthier America?  No. McConnell is willing to do anything to make Obama "....a one-term president."

***  I hope the Ohio Senate is not overworking!  The Republican-controlled Ohio Senate has released their work schedule for July 2011.  According to the Ohio Senate calendar website, there is only one session planned for the entire month:  July 13th.  Wouldn't you like a part time job that pays $60,000/year?  In this case, the state senators are making $5,000 for the month of July for one day of work.

The Ohio House will only meet for two days in July, if needed, and there are no scheduled sessions in August!

*******   Have you seen Jimmy Kimmel's presentation of Michele Bachmann's Story of America?


YouTube

Dirty Little Secrets

Will you be going to a restaurant soon? Apparently, something was slipped into the Ohio budget bill that many of us did not find out about until today.

NY Times:

...And this week, Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed the state budget, which contains sweeping limitations on local government control over restaurants...

....Scott Oelslager, the Ohio state senator who sponsored the budget amendment that threatens Cleveland’s ban, did not return requests for comments. 

Jarrod Clabaugh, a spokesman for the Ohio Restaurant Association, declined to comment. The association enlisted Mr. Oelslager’s help when it failed to prevent passage of the Cleveland ordinance, The Plain Dealer of Cleveland reported.....

Kasich and his anti-regulations Republicans have gone too far.  There is absolutely no reason to remove local control over the health and safety of the public. 

But wait!  There is more!


Poligraft has this information:

Aggregated Contributions

Represents total campaign contributions from an organization's employees and/or its PAC.

• CENTRAL OHIO RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION has aggregated $250 to OELSLAGER, SCOTT

 

From the Ohio Restaurant Association, we see these details:

 

Working with leaders in the Kasich administration and the Ohio General Assembly, the Ohio Restaurant Association (ORA) successfully encouraged the Ohio Senate to add an amendment, House Bill 153, to the state budget bill on June 1, 2011. HB 153 is now in a House-Senate conference committee. 

“There is a clear national trend among some activists to persuade local governments to enact ordinances that attempt to tell restaurants what food they can serve, how to describe their menu items to customers and even how to advertise their business to the public,” said Richard Mason, ORA’s Director of Government Affairs. “The ORA’s amendment would prohibit local political subdivisions from enacting such ordinances.”

 

 

Kasich & Republicans appear to be willing to do whatever businesses desire. 

The Office of the Legislative Inspector General Joint Legislative Ethics Committee (JLEC-OLIG)  reports that the Ohio Restaurant Association has been very busy calling upon members of the executive and legislative branches of the ohio government (see LINK). 


I thought Kasich wasn't going to give in to special interest groups. What do they call it when someone doesn't tell the truth? I wonder what other surprises are ahead from Kasich and the Ohio GOP?

Coincidence?

Gov. Kasich was praising Marathon Oil today as he gave them some new tax breaks, according to an article in the Dispatch:


....Marathon Petroleum will get a 75 percent, 15-year job retention tax credit from the state to keep its 1,650 employees in Findlay and a 60 percent, 10-year job creation tax credit the company says will allow it to hire 100 new employees.

The company also will benefit from an interpretation of Ohio's commercial activity tax included in the state's transportation budget exempting exchanges or transfers of gasoline from the tax.

Unlike some similar, previous company announcements Kasich took part in -- as with American Greetings and Bob Evans -- Kasich did not insist Marathon Petroleum would've moved out of Findlay if not for the state's tax help......

How interesting!  Poligraft shows the following connection between Marathon Oil and the Kasich-Taylor campaign of 2010:

Aggregated Contributions

Represents total campaign contributions from an organization's employees and/or its PAC.

• Marathon Oil has aggregated $18,700 to KASICH, JOHN & TAYLOR, MARY

Hmmmm.  Do you get tax credits if you've contributed to the Kasich-Taylor campaign?  I'm just asking the question!

If you recall, American Greetings got a tax break (see American Greetings news release), and their employees contributed  to the Kasich campaign, according to Poligraft:

Aggregated Contributions

Represents total campaign contributions from an organization's employees and/or its PAC.

• American Greetings Corp has aggregated $2,000 to John R. Kasich

In the case of  Bob Evans, the Ohio Secretary of State campaign finance website reports that Daniel Evans gave $500 in July 2010 to Kasich for Ohio campaign. There might be more donations out there.  I'll let you know when I find them.

Only 2 Billion Dollars?

*  President Obama has suggested that certain tax breaks should end, like those that give tax breaks to private jet owners, oil companies, hedge fund managers, millionaires and billionaires.  Republican Leader Eric Cantor said by ending the tax cuts for private jet owners, there would only be a savings of $2-3 billion.  So what?  Saving $2-3 billion is a start!  If ending a tax cuts for wealthy private jet owners means grandma and grandpa keep their Medicare, do it.  Saving the elderly is much better than giving more money to some fat cat with his own jet.


PrioritiesUSA Action says it best:





*  Officer Mike Weinman, retired from the Columbus Department, now with the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police, was a guest on the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC this evening.  He spoke about how police officers and firefighters would not be able to bargain for safety equipment under the Republican SB 5.  The decision to buy safety equipment would be left to city councils across the state.  He said that usually police are conservatives but that they've been hurt by those they trusted that wrote and passed SB 5.

**** Congratulations to We Are Ohio for collecting over 1.2 million signatures to get the referendum on the ballot so we can repeal SB 5. We'll need everyone's vote because we'll be going up against the well-funded Koch Brothers, Kasich, and the Republican Party.

Whoa, baby!!!!!!

Incredible!

Dispatch:

The coalition leading the effort to repeal Senate Bill 5 delivered a record of nearly 1.3 million signatures to the secretary of state today to place Ohio's new collective bargaining law on the November ballot.

A parade of more than 6,000, led by a banner proclaiming the "million signature march," rumbled through Downtown this morning.

We Are Ohio, the group leading the referendum effort, organized the march up Broad Street to Fourth Street, where a 48 ft. semi-truck carrying the 1,298,301 signatures in 1,502 boxes collected will be unloaded. The parade also included retired fire trucks, a drum line, bagpipes and loud motorcycles. It took about 15 minutes to pass.....

We see evidence that the people of Ohio are sick of the antics of the Kasich administration and the Ohio Republicans who think he is their god.  While Kasich and the Ohio GOP hammer away at the rights of the working people in Ohio, citizens are demonstrating their disgust with the Republican agenda.

Soon, the buzzards and corporate money in the form of the Koch Brothers' astroturf group will descend on our state and tell us that we need SB 5. Face it.  We don't need SB 5, Kasich, the Republicans, and the Koch Brothers and their corporate money.  Ohioans don't want these attacks on working people to continue, money taken from public schools, or tax breaks given to Kasich's buddies.  We've had enough!

**************** 

Have I told you lately?   Republican Reps. Steve Stivers and Pat Tiberi voted for the Paul Ryan budget which destroys Medicare.

.................................................................................................

President Obama's press conference today noted that while he has been willing to talk about the budget, the House of Representatives is on vacation and won't return until July 7th.  Like spoiled little rich kids, the Republicans are refusing to give up tax breaks for oil companies and millionaires.  Let your member of Congress know that you won't have your grandmother's Medicare cut so that oil companies and wealthy fat cats can get their taxes cut.

Save Grandma's Medicare!

Raise taxes on Millionaires

& Oil Companies!

New Budget Will Create More Problems

The new Ohio budget will create more problems for school districts. Besides cutting funding for schools, the Republican/Kasich budget set up a complex method to evaluate teachers.

Dayton Daily News:

...The bill also requires Ohio’s roughly 120,000 K-12 teachers to receive annual performance evaluations to help determine who is promoted, retained and fired....

....The state Board of Education must come up with a framework by Dec. 31 that bases annual teacher and principal evaluations on at least two 30-minute observations and student academic growth. Teachers will be given written evaluations and opportunities for professional development.....

“If every single teacher has to be evaluated, we don’t have enough administrators in this district to carry that out in a fair and proper form,” he said. “Logistically, it’s going to be a problem.”

Great. Now principals will be less likely to be able to meet with parents, groups, and even students because they will spending a lot of time observing, writing up evaluations, setting up evaluation conferences with each teacher, and then researching the academic progress of every student and match them up with his/her teacher/teachers.  That should be time consuming!  

*** The Ohio Budget Watch has more details from the Kasich budget:

...the Ohio legislature and John Kasich are really doing a solid for all of their rich friends in this budget. I mean, teachers get screwed, firefighters get screwed, public employees get screwed, as do local governments and schools but the silver lining here is that rich people make out pretty well in this budget. It’s a shame we can’t all be rich.....

Invest Ohio - If you are like me you also probably have millions of dollars of tax liability each year right? Well my friend we are in luck thanks to John Kasich and his BFF Mark Kvamme,the brain trust behind this proposal. If they get their way Ohio will offer $100 million each year in tax credits to tax payers who invest in Ohio small businesses....

....Now, just ignore the fact right now that A)these provisions are not even in the same ballpark as to what Kasich described the program was going to be last week B) was stuck in the budget in the eleventh hour with out any hearings and C) we have seen exactly zero evidence on what the impact of this is going to be and if this even has a chance of creating a single job. Just ignore all that and put yourself in the shoes of a very wealth person. You are totally psyched for this because you were just handed an opportunity to not have to pay up to $1 million of income taxes for seven years.....

Kasich is definitely taking care of the rich.  The rest of us are just unimportant to Kasich and the GOP.

**** OMG!  The right wing Club for Growth is supporting Josh Mandel, right wing Republican, and recently elected Ohio Treasurer, according to the Hotlineoncall.  Mandel still hasn't officially declared his candidacy but he is raising funds.  Mandel has yet to state whether he supports SB 5.

Begging for More Money from Koch Group?????

ProgressOhio has a very interesting tidbit about Gov. John Kasich appealing to Koch's Americans for Prosperity group.

ProgressOhio:

Update: Apparently embarrassed after having this video of Governor John Kasich Thanking the Union Busting Koch Brother's front group Americans For Prosperity that they tried to keep secret exposed to the public the AFP has removed the video.  We'll be posting the back-up we made later today!

Update II: Thanks to Rachel Maddow for picking up this story

In an "unlisted video" which Gov. Kasich recorded using state resources, he tells the Koch Industries astroturf group Americans For Prosperity "... in the four months that I've been Governor, we've accomplished a lot in Ohio... in all of these efforts the strong support of Americans for Prosperity has made a really big difference. ...it's so important that Ohio's fighters for freedom, the grassroots leaders of Americans for Prosperity, continue to lend their support to the effort to get Ohio back on track."

Here is the video as linked by politicususa.com:

YouTube



Every single time you buy a product that is produced by Koch Industries, you enrich these right wing buffoons.  As someone who posted a comment said, people should boycott their products, including the following, as provided by Substancenews.net:

....There's also a Boycott and Defeat Koch Industries Facebook page that offers the same information and more. As of Monday afternoon, more than 10,000 people had "liked" the page. 

Here's the colossal list of products being boycotted: 

Angel Soft toilet paper

Brawny paper towels

Dixie plates, bowls, napkins and cups

Mardi Gras napkins and towels

Quilted Northern toilet paper

Soft 'n Gentle toilet paper

Sparkle napkins

Vanity fair napkins

Zee napkins

Georgia-Pacific paper products and envelopes

All Georgia-Pacific lumber and building products, including:

Dense Armor Drywall and Decking

ToughArmor Gypsum board

Georgia pacific Plytanium Plywood

Flexrock

Densglass sheathing

G/P Industrial plasters (some products used by a lot of

crafters)

FibreStrong Rim board

G/P Lam board

Blue Ribbon OSB Rated Sheathing

Blue Ribbon Sub-floor

DryGuard Enhanced OSB

Nautilus Wall Sheathing

Thermostat OSB Radiant Barrier Sheathing

Broadspan Engineered Wood Products 

XJ 85 I-Joists

FireDefender Banded Cores

FireDefender FS

FireDefender Mineral Core

Hardboard and Thin MDF including Auto Hardboard,

Perforated Hardboard and Thin MDF

Wood Fiberboard

Commercial Roof Fiberboard

Hushboard Sound Deadening Board

Regular Fiberboard Sheathing

Structural Fiberboard Sheathing

(INVISTA Products):

COMFORELr fiberfill

COOLMAXr fabric

CORDURAr fabric

DACRONr fiber

POLYSHIELDr resin

SOLARMAXr fabric

SOMERELLEr bedding products

STAINMASTERr carpet

SUPPLEXr fabric

TACTELr fiber

TACTESSEr carpet fiber

TERATEr polyols

TERATHANEr polyether glycol

THERMOLITEr fabric

PHENREZr resin

POLARGUARDr fiber and

LYCRAr fiber......

 Did Kasich use state facilities and employees to film him begging for money from Koch's Americans for Prosperity?  Where was it done?  

Known by the Company You Keep.....

Does anyone else find it curious that still undeclared candidate for U.S. Senate, Republican Josh Mandel, has received an endorsement and money from the most extreme right wing conservative tea party-lover in the Republican Party, Sen. Jim "Waterloo" DeMint?

Dispatch:

....In an email to supporters, DeMint said his organization - the Senate Conservatives Fund - hopes to raise $100,000 by the end of the week for Mandel. DeMint, a South Carolina Republican, urged his backers to contribute so Mandel can defeat Brown, an Ohio Democrat whom DeMint called "the most liberal politician in the Senate."

DeMint wrote that, if Mandel wins the Republican primary against state Sen. Kevin Coughlin, the November 2012 race "will pit a young conservative leader with the principles and determination to restore America's greatness against a liberal career politician who is responsible for near double-digit unemployment and over $14 trillion in debt."

Does anyone want to explain to DeMint that the debt was delivered to President Obama from the Bush administration? Obviously, DeMint must have been attracted to Mandel because of his racist propaganda he used against his Democratic opponent in the last general election. (Do you remember the Mandel campaign accusing Kevin Boyce of being a Muslim, when he is actually a Christian (WKRG)?) 

DeMint is clearly putting the blame in the wrong place when it comes to the debt.  Is it possible that DeMint hasn't seen this chart from Politisite?

 

Someone needs to tell DeMint that he cannot make up his own facts.

DailyKos:

• OH-Sen: That's odd. Jim DeMint, prince of the conservacrazies, is awarding his first endorsement of the cycle to… a dude who isn't actually even running yet, Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, who has only gone as far as forming an exploratory committee. Perhaps this is DeMint delivering an exploratory kick in the pants?

There is definitely something scary about someone like DeMint supporting any Ohioan.  By the way, has Josh Mandel explained his position on SB 5?  Does he support it?

Is Josh Mandel so anxious to become a Senator that he'll take money from someone who has made racist and bigoted statements? (see CrooksandLiars, ModerateVoice, etc.)

**********

Today's reminder:  On April 15, 2011, Republican Rep. Steve Stivers (OH-15) voted for Paul Ryan's budget plan which kills Medicare.  Why does Stivers want to throw your grandmother off Medicare coverage and at the mercy of corporate health insurers who are more interested in profit than care?