Arrogant, Country Club Enthusiast Boehner

John Boehner, the tobacco-infused, custom-made suit wearer, right wing member of Congress, continues to call Sen. Barack Obama an elitist. Hmmmm. Boehner, who has golfed at more private country clubs than any other elected official, doesn't seem to get it. Boehner is the real elitist. How many times have you golfed at private exclusive country clubs? 50 times? 100 times? There are some country clubs in Ohio that would not even allow Obama to join.

I think that Boehner and the rest of the Republicans who continue to attack Obama are fearful. They are afraid of having someone as President who is smarter than they are. Shouldn't we elect a smart person as President this time? Shouldn't we elect someone like Obama who has the will and ability to make positive changes?

(pic from Thinkprogress.org)

Insurance Lobbyists & Stivers = Best Friends

> Republican candidate for Congress, a former bank lobbyist, Steve Stivers always brags about his tort reform (Senate Bill 80). The Cleveland Free Times (6/18/2003) had this take on that bill.......

....the State Senate last week approved a bill in a very unusual manner that would make it virtually impossible to sue big companies for harming you. Under Senate Bill 80, written by insurance industry lobbyists and sponsored by freshman State Senator Steve Stivers of Columbus, limits on non-economic damages would range from $500,000 to $1 million, and the bill would cap punitive damages at $100,000.....

Isn't great to know that Stivers got together with those insurance industry lobbyists to get their preferences for this bill? Looks like Stivers didn't care what the bill did to people. I guess if voters want someone who will work for lobbyists and corporations, they should vote for Stivers. If they want a member of Congress who will work for people, they'll vote for Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy.

Shocking Things

> > I would never let my daughters join the military. If you have daughters, be sure to read about the possible Army cover up of rape and murder of women soldiers. The Democratic Underground has this:

The Department of Defense statistics are alarming — one in three women who join the US military will be sexually assaulted or raped by men in the military. The warnings to women should begin above the doors of the military recruiting stations, as that is where assaults on women in the military begins — before they are even recruited.

But, now, even more alarming, are deaths of women soldiers in Iraq, and in the United States, following rape. The military has characterized each of the deaths of women who were first sexually assaulted as deaths from “non-combat related injuries,” and then added “suicide.” Yet, the families of the women whom the military has declared to have committed suicide, strongly dispute the findings and are calling for further investigations into the deaths of their daughters......

> The payday lenders in Ohio are fighting any restrictions on the astronomical interest rates they charge. Republican Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist, continues to support the payday lenders.

WKYC is reporting that the city of Parma has put some restrictions on payday lenders. At least it is a start.

> I'm listening to this Bush press conference on TV. Bush says he thinks McCain will be the next president. OMG!

> Mother Jones has the story about John McCain's spiritual guide, right wing pastor, Rod Parsley:

Senator John McCain hailed as a spiritual adviser an Ohio megachurch pastor who has called upon Christians to wage a "war" against the "false religion" of Islam with the aim of destroying it.

On February 26, McCain appeared at a campaign rally in Cincinnati with the Reverend Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church of Columbus, a supersize Pentecostal institution that features a 5,200-seat sanctuary, a television studio (where Parsley tapes a weekly show), and a 122,000-square-foot Ministry Activity Center. That day, a week before the Ohio primary, Parsley praised the Republican presidential front-runner as a "strong, true, consistent conservative." The endorsement was important for McCain, who at the time was trying to put an end to the lingering challenge from former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a favorite among Christian evangelicals. A politically influential figure in Ohio, Parsley could also play a key role in McCain's effort to win this bellwether state in the general election. McCain, with Parsley by his side at the Cincinnati rally, called the evangelical minister a "spiritual guide."....

Here is a YouTube video of McCain with Parsley:


McCain has Parsley and Hagee are right wing religious zealots. Why is McCain getting advice from them???

McCain Is The Real Elitist

The country is involved in an endless war in Iraq. People in this country are losing their homes and jobs. Businesses are closing. No matter how bad it gets, Republican presidential candidate, John McCain, can't talk about it, because his pro-war, pro-Bush, pro-right wing agenda has hurt the American people. Instead of focusing on how he'd fix this country, McCain is creating lies about Obama.

The Ottawa Citizen has an article about Obama's humble beginnings:

...Obama is no elitist. He was raised by a single mother who was once on food stamps. He has spent much of his career as a lawyer defending poor people. He had no real money until he made $4 million in royalties from his best-selling books, which allowed him to pay off his student loans only last year.....

...McCain....comes from military royalty (his father and grandfather were admirals) and is married to an heiress. He has spent years in Congress.

Ms. Clinton also says Mr. Obama is an elitist. This from a graduate of Wellesley and Yale Law School who was named one of the 100 leading lawyers in America. She and her husband, the one who was president, are worth $109 million.....

McCain appears to be a real elitist. You must visit the Architecture Digest slide show of just one of John McCain's homes. The slide show is of his large home in Phoenix. I especially like the fancy "elitist" pool and "etlitist" spa. The article for Architecture Digest is here.

If you'd like to read about the McCain Ranch in Sedona and his barbecue for his traveling journalists, check here. Then of course, there is the McCain condo in Phoenix, pictured on the bottom of the page at Sedonablog.

A Dose of Reality

*** Did you know that Republican John McCain voted against re-authorizing SCHIP? McCain said he was "totally in favor" of Bush's Social Security plan. You remember those plans to privatize Social Security???

*** Fundraisers for Democratic candidate for Ohio's 15th district, Mary Jo Kilroy, are usually held at the home of real people. Some of the people who attend the fundraisers are teachers, office workers, nurses, retirees, just ordinary people. Kilroy knows about the plight of the average workers having difficulty feeding their families and putting gasoline in the car.

Meanwhile, over at the Republican candidate's campaign, Steve Stivers, former bank lobbyist, seems amazed about how "the economy is just overshadowing everything." (Link: Wash. Post) Hmmm. Does Stivers have any contact with normal everyday activities? Does he go to the grocery store? Has he seen the price of milk, eggs, flour, and other food? Does he drive his own car and fill up his own tank or does he have his "help" take care of those things?

* Opensecrets has the totals for Ohio's 15 congressional district---
Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy has raised $1,208,858
Republican (former bank lobbyist) Steve Stivers has raised $788,840

68% of Kilroy's contributions are from individuals.
46% of Stivers' contributions are from individuals.

This shows you that real people feel motivated enough to make contributions to Kilroy's campaign. In these difficult economic times, that is a strong statement.

TGIF

Mary Jo Kilroy, Democratic candidate for Ohio's 15th congressional district, has updated her website. Visit here.


---Republican congressional candidate and former bank lobbyist, Steve Stivers sponsored and promoted SB 80 which was passed in the Ohio legislature. What is SB80 and how can it harm YOU?

SB 80 was tort reform and it severely limited what a person can get from a law suit. (This is how Stivers protects all his bestest friends like banks, insurance companies, law firms, and large corporations.) There is plenty of information about SB 80, but here is a tidbit:
ThisLawHurts

The most arbitrary and unfair provision of SB 80 is that it limits what an independent jury can award a victim for "noneconomic damages."

Noneconomic damages are intended to compensate victims for their very real losses beyond economic damages (medical bills and lost wages). Such losses generally are those that negatively affect one's quality of life. In legal terms, noneconomic damages include, but are not limited to, permanent disfigurement, permanent disability, loss of a limb, loss of eyesight, loss of sexual functions, loss of fertility, loss of the ability to perform life sustaining functions and a lifetime of physical and emotional pain.

By treating economic and noneconomic damages differently, arbitrary caps create a two-tiered legal system. Caps unfairly discriminate against those who either earn a lower income or have no income at all.....

Ouch!

>>>> According to Open Secrets, Hillary Clinton is $15 million in debt.

>>> Last night I watched HBO's Real Sports. Bryant Gumbel interviewed Sen. Barack Obama and they discussed Obama's love of basketball. Obama played high school basketball. You can visit the Real Sports website to get more information on the rebroadcast of this story or visit You Tube. (I wonder if Obama could challenge McCain to a game of basketball.)

>> Just when you thought Rush Limbaugh had exhausted his list of stupid comments, he tops it again. Now Limbaugh wants to see riots in the streets during the Democratic Convention.

>>> Isn't it incredible that the Republicans, who have created this war and this recession, have no new ideas so they create controversy and chaos? McCain won't talk about his love of Rev. Hagee who insults and attacks Catholics. McCain won't explain why he can't offer a real economic package because he doesn't understand economics. McCain has befriended large corporations, PACs, and lobbyists and gets to fly on their private jets. Most of all, John McCain wants to let your sons and daughters in the military to continue to fight in the Iraq War f-o-r-e-v-e-r.

Haven't we had enough of the politics of distraction? It is time to get to work in rebuilding our country. We cannot afford another Republican in the White House.

Thursday's Notes

> I've got to get one of these! There is an anti-Steve Stivers bumper sticker! (Stivers, a former bank lobbyist, is the Republican candidate for Ohio's 15th congressional district. Mary Jo Kilroy is the Democratic candidate.)
Order your anti-Stivers bumper sticker today!!!! Awesome!!!!!

> Democrats should try this: The Ohio State Medical Association PAC sent out cards to Ohio physicians to promote the candidacy of Republican members of the Ohio Supreme Court. Physicians were encouraged to put the "information cards" in their waiting rooms for patients to read. Stratton's name was one of the justices on those cards from OSMAPAC.


> The Dispatch has an article about Ohio State's newest member of the football team......Justin Boren. If that name sounds familiar, it is because he played in a blue uniform last year.

Take A Look

Take a look at the contributions to Republican candidate, Steve Stivers as reported by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
ABBOTT LABORATORIES EMPLOYEE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
ACTION COMMITTEE FOR RURAL ELECTRIFICATION NATIONAL RURAL ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION
AETNA INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
AFLAC INCORPORATED POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE AFLACPAC
AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION PAC (BANKPAC)
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LIFE INSURERS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER COMMITTEE FOR RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT, THE
AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION PAC
ASHLAND INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE FOR EMPLOYEES (PACE)
CARDINAL HEALTH INC. PAC A/K/A CARDINAL HEALTH COMPANIES PAC
COMMUNITY BANKERS ASSOCIATION OF OHIO FEDERAL PAC (CBAO FED PAC)
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INSURANCE AND FINANCIAL ADVISORS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
NATIONAL CITY CORPORATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
NATIONWIDE POLITICAL PARTICIPATION COMMITTEE
PFIZER INC. PAC
SMITHKLINE BEECHAM CORPORATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (GLAXOSMITHKLINE PAC)

Please note: The list above is only a sampling of contributors to the candidate and it does not include all of the money given to the Stivers campaign. As you can see, Stivers, the former bank lobbyist, is getting money from PACs that represent banks, life/health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, etc. Why would these types of groups give money to Stivers? They are trying to promote their agendas.

Hanging Out With Lobbyists

I found a great picture of Republican candidate and former bank lobbyist, Steve Stivers speaking to a lobbying group, the Ohio Cast Metals Association. I guess these former lobbyists like meeting with other lobbyists. No wonder he gets so many contributions from PACs!




Democratic candidate for Ohio's 15th congressional district, Mary Jo Kilroy, has received more campaign contributions from real people.

The Good and The Bad

The Good News!!!!!

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland is getting ready to refine his plan for state funding for education.
Dispatch:
...The governor plans to host regional summit meetings across the state to build support for what he's calling an education "reform agenda" he plans to unveil next year....

The Colbert Report ended a week in Philadelphia by having both Democratic Presidential candidates on the broadcast. Visit The Colbert Report.



The Bad News

> It appears that the Ohio legislature will pass a watered down bill to restrict the payday lenders. The Republican controlled Ohio legislature at first wanted to help consumers, but then they heard from the payday lenders themselves who cried crocodile tears at a recent hearing. Payday lenders charge 390% interest on loans. The payday lenders said that if they were restricted to only charging 36% on loans, it would drive them out of the state because they wouldn't be able to make any money. (The Springfield News has more.) Will our elected officials vote to help consumers or the payday lenders?

> Republican John McCain has large numbers of lobbyists advising his campaign. Some of the lobbyists include Phil Gramm, Rick Davis, Steve Schmidt, Mark McKinnon, Charles R. Black, Jr., Tom Loeffler, and others (Washington Post).

> Be warned! Mrs. Laura Bush and one of her daughters will be on The Today Show next week. I won't be watching.

Analysis of Republican Candidate Stivers' Voting Record

Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy is a great candidate for Ohio's 15th district. As a Franklin County Commissioner, she has worked hard to help every citizen in the county as well as her special efforts to help our veterans. People know where Kilroy stands. Here is more from Emily's List about Kilroy:

...Kilroy’s accomplishments in Franklin County include instituting strong ethics policies and expanding
access to affordable housing and health care. She’s balanced every county budget, helping the county earn “AAA” ratings from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. During Kilroy’s tenure, Franklin County has been ranked one of the five best-managed counties in the country by Governing magazine.....

However, Republican candidate Steve Stivers, promotes himself as a moderate, but Emily's List has a few facts about the real Steve Stivers:

....Stivers styles himself as a moderate, but his voting record on fiscal and social issues is anything but. One of four Republican senators who voted against bipartisan legislation to curb predatory lending practices, Stivers has consistently opposed consumer protection efforts — a reflection of his loyalty to the banking industry (he was a longtime lobbyist for one of Ohio’s largest banks). He says he is pro-choice, but has consistently voted against reproductive freedom, earning “0” ratings from Ohio NARAL. In 2004, Stivers voted to require doctors to prescribe three times the necessary dosage of RU-486, effectively tripling the cost of medical abortions. Two years later, he voted to codify Ohio’s ban on funding for abortions for poor women. Stivers even worked against an amendment requiring insurance companies to cover contraception. In a moment of sleazy candor, Stivers made an offensive remark about a group of high school girls visiting the state Senate. According to the Canton Repository, when Stivers was reminded that he had just returned from his honeymoon, he said, “I’m allowed to window shop, just not buy.”

....Stivers, who will be amply funded by corporate and right-wing special interests, expressed no concern about Kilroy’s head start, saying “Fundraising has never been my shortcoming.” He raised over $400,000 in just seven weeks for his campaign, which is being managed by the Ohio state political director for Bush-Cheney 2004....

This info just makes me sick------
....In a moment of sleazy candor, Stivers made an offensive remark about a group of high school girls visiting the state Senate....

Yuck. My daughter was not one of the high school girls visiting the Ohio Senate that day, but I am still offended by his behavior.

Help Make Ohio's 15th District Blue

WTOL-TV is reporting that candidates for Ohio's 15th congressional district, Democrat, Mary Jo Kilroy, and Republican, Steve Stivers raised nearly the same amount of money for the last quarter. For those of you who don't know much about the 2006 election, it is important to note that Kilroy lost to Republican Deborah Pryce by only 1,006 votes.

Most of Kilroy's financial support is coming directly from individuals. However, Republican Stivers, a former bank lobbyist, is receiving a majority of his contributions from PACs representing banks, insurance companies, and other one issue groups. (In these troubling economic times and foreclosures increasing everyday, how can anyone support a person who is a former bank lobbyist?)

If you really want to bring change to Washington, you can help by providing support for Mary Jo Kilroy. With Kilroy in the House of Representatives, people will be more important than pharmaceutical PACs, oil companies, and financial institutions. Kilroy aims to change the way Washington works, create good jobs and a strong economy, make health care affordable and available, and work toward energy independence.

If you are looking to really support a candidate that will help bring change to our country, drop in and contribute to Kilroy for Congress.

Notes from Central Ohio

> Why are Republicans in the Ohio legislature trying to push through an energy bill that will only give Ohioans higher utility bills? Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland has promised a veto if "...the bill does not protect consumers against unwarranted and unjust rate increases." (Dispatch)

> There have been few published reports about Republican congressional candidate, Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist. It makes you wonder if he is staying out of the public eye to avoid questions like ----
a.) Why does Stivers support having no cap on interest rates at payday lenders?
b.) Why does he continue to court and meet with lobbyists associated with banks (OBL: #1, #2) ?

> According to the NY Times, some of our most familiar retailers are going bankrupt or suffering from the recession:

....Since last fall, eight mostly midsize chains — as diverse as the furniture store Levitz and the electronics seller Sharper Image — have filed for bankruptcy protection as they staggered under mounting debt and declining sales.

But the troubles are quickly spreading to bigger national companies, like Linens ‘n Things, the bedding and furniture retailer with 500 stores in 47 states. It may file for bankruptcy as early as this week, according to people briefed on the matter.

Even retailers that can avoid bankruptcy are shutting down stores to preserve cash through what could be a long economic downturn. Over the next year, Foot Locker said it would close 140 stores, Ann Taylor will start to shutter 117, and the jeweler Zales will close 100.....

How will this impact central Ohio?

Ohio News

> If you smell something in the air Tuesday coming from the western part of Ohio, please be warned: Karl Rove will be visiting his good Republican friends Jon Husted, Mary Taylor, John Kasich, and other GOP office holders, according to WHIO.

> In an opinion piece in the Morning Journal, Republican Jon Husted's energy proposal is called a
"Trojan Horse." Here are some excerpts from the piece:

...The bill, which House Speaker John Husted rolled out last week, is a slap in the face to Ohio's consumers and a danger to Ohio's hopes of keeping and attracting business and jobs.....
....A close, overnight study of the actual bill's full 68 pages of tangled legalese found the rat in the woodpile: It would allow ''unwarranted and unjust rate increases'' and allow utilities, starting with FirstEnergy, ''to go to market, exposing business and consumers'' in our area ''to the risk of skyrocketing electricity prices,'' to quote Gov. Strickland, who vowed to veto it if passed as-is.

The governor also complained that Husted's version of the energy bill would allow secret ''side deals'' between utilities and business that might not be in the public interest, with no way for consumers or the media to examine them, because the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio would no longer be in the loop.....

Hopefully, Gov. Strickland and the good people of Ohio will stop Husted's gift to energy/utility companies.

Apathy

Since the Republicans lost their majority in the House of Representatives, the loss of power has made Republican Rep. Deborah Pryce (OH-15) apathetic about the people in her congressional district. Soon after Pryce announced that she would not run for re-election in November 2008, she basically started her retirement. According to the Washington Post, Pryce has missed 203 votes (15.1%) during the current Congress. Now Pryce will not work to help get funding for the demolition of the 5th Avenue dam project along the Olentangy River.

Dispatch:

....The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers couldn't secure more than $1 million needed to pay for the $1.82 million project.
Officials in the corps' district office in Huntington, W.Va., were recently told they would receive only $100,000 for environmental testing.
The $1.18 million U.S. Rep. Deborah Pryce inserted in legislation to help pay for the project was removed and wasn't included in an appropriations bill President Bush signed in December.
Pryce, an Upper Arlington Republican, won't go after the earmark for 2009, said her aide, Rob Nichols....

Pryce apparently is still able to collect her full salary despite the fact that she only reports to the House of Representatives part of the time. Wouldn't you like to have a job like that--- full salary, great benefits, terrific retirement-- and yet only report to work some of the time??????

Pryce has always done her best to be friendly with pharmaceutical, oil/natural resources, bank/financial institutions, and large corporations. She enjoyed money from their PACs and other special trips that allowed her to meet/golf with lobbyists. Now, with her retirement looming, the money and fun is just not the same and her attitude and dedication to her constituents is gone.

They Don't Think We Care

The slow moving Republicans in the Ohio legislature have just seemed to discover that Ohioans do not approve of the "payday lenders" and their business practices. In today's Dispatch, Republican Speaker of the House Jon Husted said "....that he senses growing support in his caucus for a lower interest-rate cap on payday lenders, and he wants a bill passed within two weeks...."

{Don't you wish that he'd also get Ohio school funding passed that quickly?}

However, some of the Republicans just aren't hearing very well. Some of these legislators who are friendly with "payday lenders" need to hear from you. If you would like to get involved in some political action, call or e-mail the following Republicans (from the Ohio House Financial Institutions, Real Estate, and Securities Committee) and tell them you want a cap on "payday lenders" asap:

Jon Husted: tel. (614) 644-6008 Fax (614) 791-3591 Email: district37@ohr.state.oh.us
William Batchelder: tel. (614) 466-8140 Fax (614) 719-3969 Email: district69@ohr.state.oh.us
Chris Widener: tel. (614) 466-1470 Fax (614) 719-6984 Email: district84@ohr.state.oh.us
Kevin Bacon: tel. (614) 644-6030 Fax (614) 719-6960 Email: district21@ohr.state.oh.us
Clyde Evans: tel. (614) 466-1366 Fax (614) 719-6987 Email: district87@ohr.state.oh.us
David T. Daniels: tel. (614) 466-3506 Fax (614) 719-6986 Email: district86@ohr.state.oh.us
Randy Gardner: tel. (614) 466-8104 Fax (614) 719-0006 Email: district06@ohr.state.oh.us
Bob Gibbs: tel. (614) 466-2994 Fax (614) 719-6997 Email: district97@ohr.state.oh.us
Cliff Hite: tel. (614) 466-3819 Fax (614) 719-3976 Email: district76@ohr.state.oh.us
Tom Patton: tel. (614) 466-4895 Fax (614) 719-6957 Email: district18@ohr.state.oh.us
Carol-Ann Schindel: tel. (614) 644-6074 Fax (614) 719-3963 Email: district63@ohr.state.oh.us
Barbara R. Sears: tel. (614) 466-1731 Fax (614) 719-6946 Email: district46@ohr.state.oh.us
James J. Zehringer: tel. (614) 466-6344 Fax (614) 719-3977 Email: district77@ohr.state.oh.us

Republicans on the Ohio Senate Financial and Financial Institutions Committee:
John Carey, Steve Stivers, Ron Amstutz, Steve Austria, Gary Cates, Keith Faber, Tom Niehaus, Joy Padgett,
Mark Wagoner

Note: Steve Stivers is the Republican candidate for Ohio's 15th congressional district. Stivers, a former bank lobbyist, has previously voted against putting a cap on interest from payday lenders.

Take some time and let these elected officials know that you care about this legislation.

Wednesday's Notes

WSJ:

...The Iraq vets' efforts have gained the most headway in Ohio's 15th district, where the first of the 17 members of the organization to win a primary race is State Sen. Steve Stivers. While he says he admires both Sen. McCain and Gen. Petraeus, he isn't making Iraq policy the centerpiece of his campaign. "I'll talk about Iraq with anyone who asks me, but now it's not the first issue on people's minds," the 43-year-old Ohio native says. "Jobs and the economy are where my focus is."

After several prominent Republicans declined to run this year, Mr. Stivers threw his hat into the ring to succeed retiring Rep. Deborah Pryce. He won the March 4 primary with 66% of the vote, but his prospects in November are dicey. Sen. Barack Obama, who has trumpeted his antiwar record, carried the counties that compose most of Mr. Stivers's district, including the Columbus suburbs, where Sen. Obama beat Sen. Hillary Clinton by 14 points. The district is also home to the main campus of Ohio State University, where a Republican candidate's call to "complete the mission" in Iraq is more likely to drive turnout for the Democrats than for Mr. Stivers.....

Stivers supports McCain's 100 year war in Iraq, and therefore, he will not initiate the conversation about Iraq. Democratic candidate, Mary Jo Kilroy, is definitely supporting a safe withdrawal of our troops from Iraq.

Stivers says he is focusing on jobs and the economy? Terrific. Unfortunately, Stivers, a former bank lobbyist, is supporting jobs and the paychecks for bankers. His legislative support for banks/lenders and even "payday lenders" shows that he has no plans to help regular Ohioans, consumers, or those facing foreclosure. Stivers is also part of the Republican controlled state legislature which works 2-3 days per week to further their right wing political agendas.

This year I hope that all the votes get counted in the 15th district and that it totals up to a win for Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy.

* There is some big time fighting going on in the Lucas County Republican Party, according to the Toledo Blade. I guess this shows that Ohio's Republicans are not all united together in perfect harmony.

* WTOL is reporting that Republican Ohio State Senate candidate, John Schulte was found "guilty" on Tuesday of felony-level stalking and telephone harassment...

* Did you ever wonder why the telephone-based political polls are not reliable? Many younger voters do not have "land lines" but instead rely totally on their cellphones. Those pollsters are not calling the cell phones only the "older" people, like me, (over 35) who have traditional home phones.

* After watching the Senate hearings yesterday it is clear that the Bush administration and the Republicans want nothing more than to force their Iraq agenda down our throats. Only the Democratic Senators had the backbone to ask the hard questions.

Here are some points that were made:

1. The Bush administration is paying the "Sons of Iraq" to work for our military. They are being paid two times the average salary in Iraq.

2. The government of Iraq has a large surplus in their treasury while our country is ringing up deficits.

3. Senator Lindsay Graham's questions were just repeating the Bush talking points about the war. With so many military men and women from his state in Iraq, he should be looking for the truth and not try to prop up his support of a one hundred year war.

4. Senator Susan Collins tried to act tough but she has voted twice against pulling out the troops.

5. Senator Claire McCaskill said that South Korea, Germany, and Japan had paid the U.S. government to have our troops and bases in their respective countries. However, Iraq is doing no such thing.

6. Senator Ben Nelson tried to explain to Petraeus and Crocker that the money they were asking for was billions of dollars and "not pencil dust."

I think that the hearings helped many Americans see that it is time to let the Iraqis decide their own destinies without us contributing more money and more American lives.

Eyes on Ohio's 15th CD

* It appears that Ohio's 15th congressional district is getting plenty of attention from lots of people. Here is a snippet from Real Clear Politics:

....Ohio'’s 15th: Republican Rep. Deborah Pryce barely held on last time, defeating Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy by 1,000 votes in a come-from-behind win. Kilroy is back, but Pryce has decided to call it quits. State Sen. Steve Stivers (R) initially passed on the race but has changed his mind. He should be a formidable candidate in November. While Bush barely squeezed by Kerry four years ago, Franklin County (Columbus) has been moving toward the Democrats....

I think the November race with Democrat Kilroy against Republican Stivers will be a tight race. However, there were some Democrats that voted for Pryce in the last election because of her help on specific problems. I don't think that the GOP candidate, Stivers, a former bank lobbyist, has the kind of base and following that Pryce enjoyed. Given the foreclosure crisis in central Ohio, many people might be reluctant to vote for someone like Stivers who champions the rights of banks/lenders over consumers. In this area, everyone knows at least someone who has been touched by the mortgage crisis.

* Mary Jo Kilroy, Democratic candidate for Ohio's 15th district, has received an endorsement from SNAP, a student PAC founded at Yale University. See the article at the Huffington Post.

*** Project Vote Smart: Steve Stivers voted against this bill- Am Sub SB 185, May 2006. Here is a synopsis of the bill-----

Expands the application of the Consumer Sales Practices Act to include certain consumer transactions in connection with a residential mortgage. Generally prohibits the appraisal of real estate for a mortgage loan without state certification or licensure. Prohibits any person from corrupting or improperly influencing the independent judgment of a real estate appraiser with respect to the value of the dwelling offered as security for a mortgage loan. Requires that a national criminal background check be conducted on all applicants for a real estate appraiser certificate or license, a mortgage broker certificate of registration, or a loan officer license...

Wow. This legislation seems like a good idea. The bill was written to protect citizens from unscrupulous, dishonest lenders, and yet Steve Stivers voted against it in order to support his banker buddies. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

Why is Republican Steve Stivers supporting and working with insurance lobbyists????

Republican Rep. Steve Stivers, former bank lobbyist and current Republican candidate for Ohio's 15th congressional district, seems to be very friendly with the largest and most powerful insurance lobby in the country. NCOIL.org (National Conference of Insurance Legislators) is part of an insurance lobbying firm that (from NCOIL website) works against insurance regulation:

The purpose of NCOIL is to help legislators make informed decisions on insurance issues that affect their constituents and to declare opposition to federal encroachment of state authority to oversee the business of insurance...
...Many legislators active in NCOIL chair or are members of the committees responsible for insurance in their respective state houses across the country.....

Stivers is a voting member of the Executive committee, along with Ohio Republicans William Batchelder, Keith Faber, and Jay Hottinger.

Here is how Common Dreams described the insurance lobby and NCOIL:
....The insurance lobby has picked a battleground that is inaccessible to most consumer advocates and concerned citizens. Rather than debating the merits of deregulation in Congress or the state capitals nationwide, the insurance lobby has taken its plans to two private forums: the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and the National Conference of Insurance Legislators. The NAIC, an association of state regulators, is heavily influenced by the insurance industry. The NCOIL membership consists of state legislators who often side with the insurance industry in state legislatures.

The NAIC and NCOIL are cozy clubs where insurance lobbyists and the public officials they control meet without being bothered by the inefficiencies of democratic government. Both organizations like to hold their meetings in high-class hotels. State officials can afford to be there because their expenses are subsidized, or paid for outright, by the insurance lobbyists' attendance fees. Hospitality suites abound for the regulators. And, there is no shortage of insurance industry lobbyists wanting to treat the regulators to fine dinners....

Steve Stivers is not only a former bank lobbyist who sides with banks/lenders but also best friends with insurance companies and insurance lobbyists! Does Stivers work for the people in his district or just banks and insurance companies????

Visit Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy's website and help her defeat a lobbyist's best friend, Stivers.

Some Members of Lima Company Returning to Iraq

You probably remember the Marine Reserve company called Lima Company. Here is the original article from The Washington Post (August 4, 2005):

A Marine Reserve company that was known as "Lucky Lima" before suffering heavy casualties in May was hit Wednesday by the deadliest roadside bombing of the Iraq war, a massive explosion that killed 14 Marines and the unit's Iraqi interpreter, according to witnesses and military spokesmen....
.....As it turned out, Lima Company and the rest of the 25th Regiment were beginning four months in which they would be bombed and ambushed in the grimy Euphrates River towns where U.S. commanders say foreign insurgents had moved freely. During the tour, 16 members of Lima Company have been killed, according to a military spokesman in Columbus, Ohio, 1st Sgt. James Halbig.

As a whole, the 25th Regiment suffered 20 dead in May and June. Then, with Wednesday's bombing and two attacks Monday, the number of dead more than doubled, to 41....

When they returned home, they were assured by their military commanders that their next deployment would not be Iraq. Knowing members of Lima Company and seeing them at special events, the people of Ohio have really embraced and honored these Marines and their sacrifice.

Then in today's Dispatch..........

Ten Marine reservists with Columbus-based Lima Company have been called up for another tour of duty in Iraq. Nine of them fought in Iraq when 23 members of the company were killed.....

....All 10 of the Marines have served in Iraq before, said Capt. Paul Greenberg, a spokesman with the Marine Forces Reserve Headquarters in New Orleans.

The Marine reservists are being mobilized to fill out the ranks of the 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment based in Garden City, N.Y....

I'm sad to see these Marines sent back to Iraq. I'm also so sorry that so many of our young men and women in uniform have suffered so much because of Bush's war in Iraq. It is time to bring them home.

The Race for Ohio's 15th

Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy, candidate for Ohio's 15th congressional district, is very upset with the big bonuses that some CEO's of mortgage companies are receiving.
Dispatch:
....The Democratic candidate for Congress in the 15th District, which includes much of Columbus and suburbs to the west, wants to end paydays for executives such as Angelo Mozilo and David Sambol of Countrywide Financial Corp., which is being acquired by Bank of America.

In a press release, Kilroy fingered the pair as the "architects" of the crash in the subprime lending market that has spilled over to Wall Street and left thousands of Ohioans in danger of losing their homes....

“It’s time to change the priorities in Washington so the powerful banking lobby no longer writes the rules to benefit Wall Street at the expense of Main Street," she said in the press release.....

Don't you wonder how Stivers feels about these mortgage kingpins?

> If you've looked at Open Secrets recently, you already know that Mary Jo Kilroy has received sixty-eight percent of her contributions from individuals. Her Republican opponent has only gotten forty-four percent of his campaign money from individuals. Kilroy also has a much larger campaign fund. Kilroy's Republican opponent, Steve Stivers, a former bank lobbyist, has heavy contributions from investment firms and large business PACs. Of course, I'm not surprised.

> Meanwhile, we still have to deal with our current member of Congress, Republican Rep. Deborah Pryce. Pryce continues to do her best to avoid voting. According to the Washington Post, Pryce has missed 198 votes (15.0%) during the current Congress... Way to go, Deb! Keep showing your constituents that you just don't care!!!

Ohio's Republicans Don't Have School Children as a Priority

The Republican controlled state legislature returns to work, according to the Newark Advocate, to work on these issues:
> Gov. Strickland's energy bill (the Republicans have done nothing with it for months.).
> a request to replace Ohio's touch screen voting machines. (Husted and his GOP buddies won't do anything but try to smear Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.)
> possible Keno gambling in the state.
> consider placing Gov. Strickland's Building Ohio Jobs bond issue on the ballot....
> the capital construction budget requests...

Wow. Working only 2-3 days per week could really prove exhausting for the Ohio Republicans and they still have to work on these important areas. Wait..... I didn't see anything that indicates that Husted and his Republican buddies will work on public school funding!!!! Looks like the Ohio school children will still have to depend on those school levies. Unfortunately, Ohio's children are not a priority for the Ohio Republicans. While school districts cut reading specialists, art and music teachers, tutors, and classroom teachers because levies have failed, the Ohio Republicans are still able to get funds for stadiums and highway interchanges in their home district. (Hint: Husted.)

It is time to bring in a new Ohio legislature that will promise to fix school funding.

House Going into Foreclosure?

Republican candidate for Congress, Steve Stivers, once said that foreclosures are the result of job losses and that you should not be able to sue your lender. (Stivers, once a bank lobbyist, still likes to protect his bank buddies!)
Here are some excerpts from the Dispatch (1/19/06):
....Sen. Steve Stivers, a Republican and former lobbyist for Bank One, said Ohio should remain one of only two states that exempts the mortgage industry from the Consumer Sales Practices Act....
....Stivers isn't finding much support in his own caucus, much less among advocates for the poor.

Bill Faith, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, said the proposals would not address Ohio?s mortgage lending problems.

"The bottom line is the homeowner has to have the ability to seek redress," he said, adding that consumers have more protections when buying a toaster than a house...

Unfortunately, Ohio is one of the top states in the current foreclosure mess. Does Stivers still feel the same way about protecting lenders instead of consumers?

----> Did you see this article in the New York Times Magazine's cover story called

The End of Republican America?

Here is an excerpt:

....Going into the 2008 elections, (Rep. Tom) Cole faces a daunting list of challenges. To date, 29 of his party’s representatives in Congress have retired, an unusually large number, leaving open politically marginal seats that incumbents might have held but which will be more difficult for challengers to defend — Deborah Pryce’s seat in Columbus, Ohio; Mike Ferguson’s in central New Jersey; Heather Wilson’s around Albuquerque; Thomas M. Reynolds’s in Buffalo. Reynolds, Cole’s predecessor at the N.R.C.C., just narrowly held his seat in 2006. Rick Renzi, a Republican congressman from Arizona, was indicted last month on federal corruption charges, putting what was another safe Republican seat in play. These vacancies mean that in a year when, by historical standards, his party would be expected to win back seats, Cole will have to defend many more seats than he will be able to attack (only six Democratic incumbents have announced they are leaving office). His committee has approximately $5 million on hand, roughly one-eighth the amount of cash on hand as its Democratic counterpart, which at latest count had $38 million. Worse still, the National Republican Congressional Committee recently discovered, during an internal audit, accounting fraud so extensive that it had to call in the F.B.I., which is now investigating embezzlement by the committee’s former treasurer. Many conservative activists have become so dissatisfied with the party’s heresies, particularly on immigration and government spending, that as Cole’s staff took over, the committee’s fund-raising pleas were being ignored and, on at least one occasion, returned in an envelope stuffed with feces.....

Interesting.

You Should Know...

(1) Our hearts go out this evening to the family and friends of Staff Sergeant Matt Maupin, of Ohio.
WKRC-TV is reporting:

The remains of Staff Sergeant Matt Maupin have been found in Iraq. That announcement from the Yellow Ribbon Support Center.

Maupin was captured near Baghdad when his convoy was attacked nearly four years ago. The Batavia native and Glen Este High School was last seen on video tape shortly after his disappearance. Until today the Pentagon listed his status as "captured missing."

....Matt Maupin would have been 24 years old in July.


(2) What does a former Secretary of the Treasury think of John McCain? Here is a tidbit from an interview with Paul O'Neill in this Sunday's The New York Times Magazine:

How do you feel about John McCain, who claims to be a straight talker? I don’t want a straight talker. I want a leader. And a straight talker is one dimension of a leader.

McCain recently confessed in public that his grasp of economics is limited. Yeah. That’s a great place to start from, isn’t it?

(3) Swing State Project has a few comments about Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy and Ohio's 15th congressional district:

Tier One: Toss-Up

15th District Central Ohio (includes part of Columbus and west and northwest suburbs, Hilliard, Marysville). Cook PVI R+1.1. Bush won 50% in 2004. In 2006 retiring incumbent Deborah Pryce (R) defeated Mary Jo Kilroy (D) by just over 1,000 votes. 2008 congressional primary turnout was 62.1% Democratic. DCCC Red-to-Blue program.

County Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Columbus) is running almost like an incumbent after her photo finish in 2006 and the retirement of her opponent. She has raised an impressive amount of money and has strong support from labor, womens' groups (including Emily's List) and among students, who are very numerous in this district......

Kilroy has better name recognition in the district than former bank lobbyist Stivers.

Not Ready for Another Republican Governor

Republican John Kasich has announced his intention of running for Ohio governor, according to the Dispatch. I wrote about this on this blog just last month. Here is what I said in February 2008:

1. The state is in trouble because of the corrupt Republican Taft administration.

2. The Republicans who control the state legislature are more concerned with getting re-elected than helping out the citizens of Ohio.

3. After a year in office and no cooperation from Jon Husted and the rest of the self-centered Republican members of the legislature, Gov. Strickland is still working through the mess left by the Taft administration (a. mismanagement and millions of dollars lost in the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation;
b. no-bid contracts in Taft's Ohio Dept. of Transportation;
c. a mess in the election boards across the state; etc., etc., etc.)

4. Kasich works for the right wing propaganda machine, Fox News.

Here is what Kasich said as reported in the Dispatch:

Kasich said he feels compelled to run because Ohio needs a governor willing to take dramatic action to stem Ohio's job losses, low personal-income growth and flight of young people.

"Every economic factor you look at, we're in the bottom of the barrel," he said. "The only reason I'm interested in this is because I think our state is in a death spiral."

and.....

"Frankly, I believe the (state) income tax has to be phased out," Kasich said, promising to detail in the future how he would make up for a tax that provides the state with more than $9 billion a year, or 34 percent of its operating money.

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland was asked for his impression of Kasich's proposals. Here is Strickland's response:

"I guess I'm just more optimistic about Ohio's future than Mr. Kasich's comments would indicate that he is," Strickland told reporters after an event this morning.....

Such a move, Strickland contended, could mean "you're going to dismantle higher education, and elementary and secondary education, and various departments of government," which, he claimed, would put Ohio in a death spiral.

"I would just be interested to know how such a loss in revenue would be possible without basically giving up on the state of Ohio," Strickland said....

I don't think that Ohioans are ready to turn the governor's office over to the Republicans. We are still hurting from the scandals the GOP left on our doorstep.

Good Vibes for Dems in Ohio's 15th Congressional District

The November election for the congressional seat in Ohio's 15th CD should be a spirited one. Trends show that Democrats are gaining strength throughout the district. Here are some points to ponder from data provided by CQ Politics:

* Democratic congressional candidates have been gaining more votes in every election and Republicans have been winning by smaller percentages.

* Mary Jo Kilroy, the Democratic candidate for the 15th, has a much larger campaign war chest than her Republican opponent.

* Much of the criticism that retiring GOP Rep. Deborah Pryce has received has been her overwhelming support of banks, big oil, big pharmaceuticals, insurance companies, and large corporations instead of her constituents. This time, the GOP candidate is a former bank lobbyist who has made no apologies for his support of banks/lending institutions instead of consumers.

* Worthington and Upper Arlington, two suburbs in the 15th, were once solidly Republican. Today these two suburbs are bluer and large Progressive groups have attracted residents and volunteers for Democratic candidates.

* Closed restaurants, home foreclosures, and business failures will force many voters to support candidates that offer solutions to economic problems.

Obstructing Progress

Ohio Gov. Strickland's energy bill is geared to help reduce the state's reliance on foreign oil and create jobs in the state. However, according to the Toledo Blade, Strickland ....said the bill, after passing the Senate unanimously, is languishing in the Republican-controlled House....

Republican Speaker of the Ohio House Jon Husted is blocking this legislation. Not a surprise. Husted is trying to delay getting anything done until the next Republican is elected governor. Just look at the schedule that the Republican-controlled state legislature has---( http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/today.cfm ). Working 2-3 days per week isn't getting anything accomplished in the state. It is clear that the Republicans are obstructing progress in Ohio.

Further evidence from the Plain Dealer indicates that Husted and his GOP buddies are attacking Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner with a goal in mind. The Republicans are trying to weaken Brunner so that Jon Husted can run for her office in 2010. (To readers outside of Ohio: Republicans in this state are still trying to gain control of the governor's office after the scandals of the previous Republican administration.)
Republicans want to have a Republican Secretary of State because it is the office that manages the voting, how votes are counted, and who sits on the county board of elections, etc.... Get it?

Americablog has an interesting statistic:
1 in 10 Ohioans Receiving Food Stamps

...As for Ohio, after years of a complete lock on power, the state is going to take years to undo the problems created by Republican rule. McCain is going to have a tough time winning over the swing state, especially since his own economic policies and advisers are so closely tied to the kinds of policies that dragged the state down. Of course, Democrats are going to have to start pointing this out much more often...

Here is the Dispatch article on the sad statistic:

.....Caseloads have almost doubled just since 2001, with 1.1 million residents now collecting benefits, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

Low wages, unemployment and the rising cost of groceries, gasoline and other necessities are to blame for financial hardships facing many Ohio families.....

....Not surprisingly, food pantries and soup kitchens across the state have been reporting record demands. Like the families they serve, they, too, cannot keep pace....

While Husted and the Republicans work to expand their campaign war chests, consolidate their power, and plot their political futures, they are doing nothing to help Ohio families.

Stivers Trying to Divert Attention Away from War, Recession, and Foreclosures

Steve Stivers, former bank lobbyist and current Republican candidate for Ohio's 15th congressional district is trying to divert your attention. According to the Dispatch, if elected to Congress, Stivers wants to end some earmarks. Oh. I see. Why has Stivers turned his talking points to earmarks?

>Stivers won't talk about the tanking economy because the policies of a Republican President got us here.
>Stivers can't talk about the Iraq War because a Republican President created the war and the mess we have now.
>Stivers won't talk about Ohio's bad economy because former Republican Gov. Taft and the Republican controlled state legislature are responsible for the disarray and problems.
>Stivers won't talk about improving education because he is part of the Republican controlled legislature that has refused to fix the school funding problems in Ohio.
>Stivers won't talk about about cleaning up government because Ohio and the nation are still recovering from the Republican scandals.

:::: Need reminding?????
1. Ohio's "Coin-gate" scandal and Republican fundraiser Tom Noe

2. Hundreds of millions of dollars missing from Ohio's Bureau of Workers' Compensation under Taft

3. The Abramoff Scandals- Ohio's own Republican member of Congress--Bob Ney

4. The Republican Mark Foley scandal involving the congressional pages

5. Lack of both body armor and properly armored vehicles for our troops under a Republican White House

6. Tax relief for big oil while they make obscene profits on rising gas prices

7. American soldiers electrocuted and provided contaminated water by Republican friendly war contractors

8. Republican Sen. Larry Craig's scandal

9. Almost 4,000 Americans have been killed in Iraq. With a Veterans' Administration unable to handle the numbers of physically wounded and those suffering from PTSD, many returning veterans and their families feel forgotten by their government.

10. According to the National Priorities Project, the Iraq War has cost us over $500 trillion dollars. Even though the Bush administration said it would only cost a few million dollars and last only six weeks, the Iraq War has cost us thousands of lives, heartbroken families, and money that we will never get back.

Ask Steve Stivers to talk about how he'll fix this Republican mess.

We need real change and that means electing Democrat Mary Jo Kilroy for Ohio's 15th congressional district.

What is it with the Summit County Ohio Republican Party?

The Dispatch has the information on the tape of when the Summit County Republicans sued Ohio Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner:
....The tape shows a nearly five-hour deposition of Brunner in a lawsuit before the Ohio Supreme Court. The Summit County Republican Party is suing Brunner after she didn't accept the party's recommendation to appoint Brian K. Daley to the county Board of Elections.....
....Brunner mostly answers the questions in a matter-of-fact way. She shows little reaction, even as state Sen. Timothy J. Grendell, representing the Summit County GOP, and Assistant Attorney General Richard N. Coglianese bicker throughout.

At one point, a disgusted Grendell, R-Chesterland, throws down a stack of documents in front of Brunner, and Coglianese quickly says for the record that Grendell "threw the exhibits at the secretary of state." Grendell later apologized.....

It really makes you wonder why the Summit County Republican Party felt the need to sue the Ohio Secretary of State. Are they afraid of fair elections in Ohio? You bet. The Summit County GOP doesn't want to give up power to a Democratic Secretary of State.

By the way, in my humble opinion, the Grendell guy seems like a real jerk and very unprofessional.

More Questions for the Passport Security Problems

MSNBC News:
State Department employees snooped through the passport files of three presidential candidates — Sens. Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain — and the department's inspector general is investigating.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the violations of McCain and Clinton's passport files were not discovered until Friday, after officials were made aware of the unauthorized access of Obama's records and a separate search was conducted.....

This is an incredible story about how this administration is not even protecting our security within its own government. I was listening to the Ed Schultz radio show and a person who identified himself as an IT specialist said that there could be even more problems than just the breaches of security and privacy. Someone could have altered information within each of those passport files. What if someone changed names, dates, and the places visited? Was this breach intentional? Are these temporary contractors American citizens, members or associates of terrorist organizations or members of an extreme political movement? Did someone ask or pay them to access these files? What was done with the information they found?

Now that we know that three presidential candidates had their passport files breached, do we know if these contractors accessed any other private or secure information? Why does Rice's department allow temporary workers to have access to this secure information?

CQ Politics:

....Meanwhile, Rep. Henry A. Waxman , D-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, demanded that the State Department release the names of the companies through which passport records for the three presidential candidates were breached.

“I am writing to request that you provide the Oversight Committee by Monday with the identities of the companies involved in these breaches,” Waxman said in a letter to Rice. “I also believe this information should be made publicly available.”

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard L. Berman , D-Calif., said his panel also would investigate the breach.....

This all reminds me of the Watergate break-in story that said some low-level burglars had broken into the office of the Democratic National Committee. Is this breach the new break-in for the computer age?

Now You Know: Stivers Favors McCain's 100 Year War Strategy

Update: There is a picture of Steve "ex-bank lobbyist" Stivers and his supporters at the Dublin St. Patrick's Day Parade. Why are only white people in pictures with Stivers? Are there any minorities that support Stivers in Ohio's 15th district?

According to the Dispatch, Steve "former bank lobbyist" Stivers .....was supportive of McCain and less critical of Bush, although he did acknowledge "mistakes" in the handling of the war.. during a recent radio interview.

If Republican Steve Stivers were elected to Congress to represent Ohio's 15th congressional district, he'd most likely vote to continue the war when those votes came up in Congress. We'd continue to lose American lives (3992 at present), and trillions of dollars in Iraq. It is time to change policy and direction. We don't need a Deborah Pryce clone like Steve Stivers.

If you're satisfied with the Bush economy, you should support Stivers. However, if you think we can and must do better, you'll support and vote for Mary Jo Kilroy, Democrat.

Do most Catholics support more war and suffering?

I don't think that most Catholics support unending war and suffering.

The group called Roman Catholics for Obama has had a presence in the Obama for President campaign.
Not to be outdone, the Republicans had to come out with a group for Republican Catholics who support McCain for President. You won't be surprised about the members of this committee. According to earnedmedia.org, 'The National Catholics for McCain Committee' is a newly formed group to support the candidacy of John McCain.


>>Here is a list of some of the members: (These people support Bush and McCain's unending war.)
Republican House Leader John Boehner, Ohio
Former U.S. Senator Mike DeWine, Ohio
Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Florida
Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, Florida
Former U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig, Washington, DC
Representative Ray LaHood, Illinois
Representative Dan Lungren, California
U.S. Senator Mel Martinez, Florida
Representative Jean Schmidt, Ohio
Representative Pat Tiberi, Ohio

There are other names on the list, but they are all Republicans who have participated in GOP administrations or worked for Republicans in other capacities.

Apparently, they've forgotten the first line of the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

News from Central Ohio

> High school football recruit, Terrelle Pryor, will be an Ohio State Buckeye in the fall.

> Everyone I've talked with has given positive assessments for Sen. Barack Obama's speech. Barack Obama has learned from the past and is ready to lead us into the 21st century. (Unlike McCain, who is firmly planted in the past and doesn't seem to know what is going on in Iraq. For information on McCain's confusion about the Iraq war, see Raw Story.)

> There are grumblings in Ohio's 12th congressional district about Republican Rep. Pat Tiberi's change of focus. Tiberi has been less available to constituents because he is concentrating on increasing his status in the Republican leadership. Isn't that nice. Basically, he is saying he doesn't care about the needs and concerns of his constituents.

> 5 years of the Iraq War: 3990 Americans killed and over 30,000 injured/wounded Americans.

> Do you know that the last time that the U.S. dollar lost this much value was during the presidency of George H.W. Bush?

It Continues.....

The Inquirer:
Alerted by Ohio's Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner, Franklin County election officials have ordered the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation to seize as an official crime scene some 15 touch-screen voting machines that had produced improbable results in a state-wide 2006 election.

In addition, a bogus Homeland Security Alert that led to 2004 general election vote counting shenanigans in a key southwestern Ohio county is under renewed investigation. It is well documented and widely believed that numerous election "irregularities" orchestrated by J. Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio's former Secretary of State, succeeded in stealing Ohio's 20 electoral votes for George W. Bush in 2004, delivering to him an undeserved, catastrophic second term as President ['allegedly', adds our legal department].....

Now you know why the Republicans are fighting Brunner every step of the way. Brunner wants fair and honest elections and the Ohio Republicans.......not so much.

....Franklin County Board of Elections Director Matt Damschroder was removed prior to Ohio's 2008 primary election. He had previously been suspended for a month without pay for accepting a $10,000 Republican campaign contribution check from a voting machine salesman at his office.

The check was delivered on the day Ohio's electronic voting machine contracts were opened for bidding. Damschroder had been the chair of the Franklin County Republican Party and was the state's leading opponent of paper balloting until he was forced out......

Wow! What a coincidence!!! Damschroder got a check for $10,000 for the GOP on the same day bidding was opened on voting machines.

David Robinson in the 12th

There is a well-qualified Democrat running for Ohio's 12th district and his name is David Robinson. All you need to do is visit Robinson's website to see how he can bring change to Washington. Robinson is running against Bush robot, Pat Tiberi. Tiberi, who is in tight with all the lobbyists and special interest groups, continues to do his part to push for unending war and corporate welfare.

Which candidate do you think has this on his website---- Robinson or Tiberi?

For both economic and ethical reasons, support the availability of health care for all; reducing costs by reforming Medicaid/Medicare to allow for greater range of services from general practitioners; support national campaigns to discourage smoking and obesity; reform of drug benefits to favor generics and competitive bidding by Medicare; increased funding for Alzheimer’s research.

Robinson

Who posted this------
I am running for Congress because the America we grew up knowing and loving is now at risk. We pursue policies that enrich a few today, but impoverish the many tomorrow. We create false problems, while ignoring real ones. We divide ourselves through bigotry and fear, when what we need is common cause and big dreams. It’s time to choose the better way. It’s time to restore our country and reclaim our future, and I ask that you join our campaign in this common cause. If not us, who? If not now, when?

David Robinson! If you really believe in change, you'll vote for David Robinson. Visit his website and support his campaign.

Ohio GOP: Kicking and Screaming

Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is getting attacked by the Ohio GOP because of her desire to have and maintain clean, honest, and fair elections in the state. However, the Republicans who've been controlling every aspect of the vote in Ohio, are kicking and screaming to protest. The Republicans once controlled where votes were counted and which of the the party "bigshots" counted the vote. Now the Republicans are acting like two year olds throwing tantrums all over the state. Here is an example from a story in the Plain Dealer:

Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is knee-deep in a turf war in Summit County with the GOP.

Brunner, a Democrat, was grilled for more than four hours Wednesday night in a deposition over her decision to take on the Summit County Republican Party Executive Committee twice this year over its selection to the county's elections board. And the Ohio Supreme Court is still taking evidence in that party's complaint against her.

As the head of the state's election system, Brunner selects the four members to the county election boards based on recommendations from Democratic and Republican parties. Two members represent each party....

> What have the Republicans done in Summit County? Here is an article about massive voter registration fraud in Ohio 2004 from the Election Defense Alliance:

In that book, Miller recounts his conversations with Denise Shull, a poll checker in Summit County. During the course of her work on Election Day, Shull noted that approximately 10% to 20% of registered Democratic voters on her list were not on the official list of registered voters. Furthermore – and this is very important – these voters were described as ardent Democrats, as long time voters in the area, AND most of them were not voting....

....How could voter purging be made more efficient in counties with large percentages of Republican voters?

Miller’s book also describes a break-in at Democratic Party headquarters in Akron, Summit County, in the summer of 2004. The only thing stolen was two computers with Democratic campaign-related information on them. A similar break-in occurred three months later in Lucas County, and was described by the Toledo Blade. One can guess that with voter information obtained from these computers, the targeting of Democratic voters in these two counties could have been made a lot more efficient than it could have been without that information.....

>> Here is something else from Harper's Magazine---"None Dare Call It Stolen..." (August 2005):

....Finally, Democratic and/or Green observers were denied access to absentee, and/or provisional ballots, or were not allowed to monitor the recount process, in Summit, Huron, Putnam, Allen, Holmes, Mahoning, Licking, Stark, Medina, Warren, and Morgan counties. In short, the Ohio vote was never properly recounted, as required by Ohio law....

>> One last article talks about the iron-fisted leader of the Summit County Republican Party. Clevescene:

The Republican boss of Summit County revels in crushing his enemies.....

Yep. Those old white guys in the Summit County Republican Party just don't want YOUR vote to count. Remember, Jennifer Brunner is trying to have fair and honest elections, which is something the Summit County Republicans don't want.

Write a letter to the editor to support the work of Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. Her work must be making an impact on the old GOPers.

Inquiring Minds Want To Know

It appears that the website that provides information about registered lobbyists in the state of Ohio is having difficulty with all the requests for information on Republican Steve Stivers (candidate for Ohio's 15th district).
Perhaps you'll have better luck later. In the meantime, if you wish to find the papers and reports that Stivers has filed, follow the information below:

1. Visit: http://www.jlec-olig.state.oh.us/
2. When the "Lobbying Center" page opens, look to the right on the page for the heading "Public Information"
3. Click on "Lobbyist Forms Filed 1991 to Present"
4. On the next page that opens, type in Stivers where it says Search by Lobbying Agent.
5. The next page will say Agents Found and Stivers, Steven E will pop up.

(****Note: Apparently, too many people want to see these reports, and their website seems to be unable to fulfill the search requests at this time.)

The bottom line is this: Steve Stivers was a LOBBYIST for Bank One. He worked as a lobbyist as he visited various offices within the state government. Even today, he has bank investments which allow him to profit. So when I've previously said that Stivers' support of bills helped his banking friends, I was right.

Update: Official Paperwork Proves Stivers Was A Lobbyist

I started to laugh out loud when I read the Dispatch this morning. In a story buried inside the paper, Republican candidate for Ohio's 15th congressional district, Steve Stivers said he was not a lobbyist for Bank One. Unfortunately, for Stivers, the State of Ohio has the paperwork to show that he was indeed a lobbyist.

After doing a search at http://www.jlec-olig.state.oh.us/ this is what I found:

There are a total of 56 documents detailing Steve Stivers and his lobbying efforts for Bank One.
For example: Item #1 was filed on 2/1/2000. The form is titled "Executive Agency Lobbyist/Employer Initial Registration Statement."
On page 2 of the form, it says the following:
C. Brief description of the Executive Agency Decision(s) to to which Executive Agency Lobbyist's engagement relates: "Financial Decisions"
D. Categorical listing of offices of Elected Executive Official, Department or Executive Agencies to which the engagement relates. There are checks next to Governor, Lt. Governor, Sec. of State, Auditor of State, Treasurer of State, Attorney General.

The form is signed by Steve Stivers.