When former Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15-Democrat) was our member of Congress, she got to work immediately, January 2009, to help improve lives of women, men, and children. Kilroy supported and voted for bills that promoted fair pay (Paycheck Fairness Act), the equal pay for women (the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009), and the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of '09. Forty-six (46) votes were taken in January 2009 in the House of Representatives under the leadership of the Democrats (see Govtrack.us).
Now, with the Republicans in control of the House of Representatives, Republican Rep. Steve Stivers (OH-15), a former bank lobbyist, has done little for us. According to Gov.track, there have been twenty-five (25) votes taken in the House in January 2011. Under Boehner's leadership, the Republican majority and Stivers have not voted for one bill that will improve the lives of average Americans. The Republican legislation to repeal the health care law will hurt more middle class people. The Republicans don't care about middle class people, retirees, children, the poor, or issues with fair pay and equality. Their concern revolves around lowering taxes for millionaires.
The Dispatch:
...House Democrats unveiled a new website - www.whenarethejobs.com - last week as a way to go after some of the newest members of the House, such as Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Columbus. The site, created by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, pokes fun at House Republicans for beginning their control of the House by trying to repeal health-care reform and restrict abortion rights rather than focusing on initiatives that would create jobs.
"House Republicans like Rep. Steve Stivers said their campaign was about creating jobs, but in the first 30 days, it's clear that everything from social issues to special interests has come first," said Jesse Ferguson of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.....
With their very limited work calendar, the Republicans do not want to work too hard. No one will accuse them of spending too much time in the halls of Congress because they have entire weeks off in most months, according to a calendar put out by Rep. Eric Cantor (see Politico).
When will the Republicans get to work on their so called "number one" issue: jobs?
_______
The Governor of Wisconsin is gaining a reputation that is not favorable: 'Dictator'
TheNation:
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s proposal to strip public employees of most collective bargaining rights, cut pay and gut benefits without any negotiation the most radical assault yet by the current crop of Republican governors on the rights of workers has inspired outrage in a historically progressive and pro-labor state....
Mentioned in the article, was a quote from former Sen. Russ Feingold. Feingold had this to say about Gov. Scott Walker's plan to end collective bargaining and worker protections:
....Former US Senator Russ Feingold decried the move, declaring that “Governor Walker’s request to the State Legislature to eliminate nearly all of the collective-bargaining rights for thousands of Wisconsin workers is big government at its worst. No private employer can do what the governor proposes, nor should it. For decades, Wisconsin has protected the rights of workers to collectively bargain with their employer on wages, benefits, workplace rules, and many other aspects of their employment. The governor is wrong to suggest that public workers are responsible for the state’s budget woes, and he is wrong to use that bogus excuse to strip them of rights that millions of other American workers have.”
....A governor who seeks to eliminate labor rights is not acting as a “fiscal conservative.” He is acting as a dictator.
Hmmm. Scott Walker's plans sound very similar to those of Gov. John Kasich. Did Walker and Kasich go to a Republican class on how to destroy working families? Do they support unsafe working conditions? Do they want managers to demand that workers exceed an eight hour work day and then not get paid? Do they want to deny workers benefits and job protections? Are Kasich and Walker pushing to turn Ohio back to the days of overworked, underpaid, workers? It seems so.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
No Guarantees?
Gov. John Kasich's plan to cut out collective bargaining, outlaw public employee unions, and provide tax breaks for the wealthy, might not provide the bonanza of jobs that he is selling. According to an article in the Seattle Times, pitching businesses lower taxes and tax breaks does not automatically bring jobs.
SeattleTimes:
....there's a catch to the anti-tax, pro-business rhetoric: Businesses consider a range of factors when deciding where to locate, including the quality of schools, roads and programs that rely on a certain level of public spending and regulation. And evidence suggests there is little correlation between a state's tax rate and its overall economic health.
"Concerns about taxes are overstated," said Matt Murray, a professor of economics at the University of Tennessee who studies state finance. "Labor costs, K-12 education and infrastructure availability are all part of a good business climate. And you can't have those without some degree of taxation."
...The quality of a state's labor market is another significant factor for businesses as they choose where to locate, in some cases mitigating the level of taxes they will have to pay....
What business wants to move to a state where potential employees are poorly educated, inadequately trained, schools have had massive cuts, and cities/counties are cutting police and fire services?
SeattleTimes:
....there's a catch to the anti-tax, pro-business rhetoric: Businesses consider a range of factors when deciding where to locate, including the quality of schools, roads and programs that rely on a certain level of public spending and regulation. And evidence suggests there is little correlation between a state's tax rate and its overall economic health.
"Concerns about taxes are overstated," said Matt Murray, a professor of economics at the University of Tennessee who studies state finance. "Labor costs, K-12 education and infrastructure availability are all part of a good business climate. And you can't have those without some degree of taxation."
...The quality of a state's labor market is another significant factor for businesses as they choose where to locate, in some cases mitigating the level of taxes they will have to pay....
What business wants to move to a state where potential employees are poorly educated, inadequately trained, schools have had massive cuts, and cities/counties are cutting police and fire services?
Friday, February 11, 2011
Kasich's War Against Workers (cont.)
What does Ohio Gov. John Kasich have against regular working people? Kasich, conservative Republican and former Lehman Brothers vice president, hasn't stopped in his verbal assaults on teachers, state employees, service employees, firefighters, and police officers. Kasich wants to end binding arbitration.
Dispatch:
"I have my own proposal right now," Kasich told reporters after a speech to the Ohio Newspaper Association in Columbus.
"We would outlaw strikes, and the penalties would either be firing or docked wages," the governor said.
Asked what recourse public union workers would have under his proposal, Kasich said, "They have a job. They should continue to negotiate and try to come up with something."
Kasich has only stirred up his rhetoric since becoming governor. He continues to blame Ohio's unions for the recession. (FYI: Kasich was a vice president at Lehman Brothers. This is the same Lehman Brothers that went bankrupt and caused the collapse of Wall Street. Kasich's ties to the state helped introduce Lehman Brothers big shots to the public retirement fund managers in Ohio. The state retirement systems lost $400 million when Lehman declared bankruptcy in the fall of 2008.)
Here is a view from someone who represents workers in Ohio. Tribune-Chronicle:
...Debbie Bindas, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 8 representative, said the proposed legislation - Senate Bill 5 - treats public workers like they are not part of the community. Council 8 represents city, county, township and health care workers for the entire state of Ohio and is one of three AFSCME branches in the state.
"I think the Senate is barking up the wrong tree. I think there are more important issues in Ohio regarding the economy, and it's called unemployment," Bindas said....
....''Public employees touch every aspect of our life, from treating the water we use to make our morning coffee to inspecting the restaurants where we eat on the weekends," Bindas said....
Bindas does raise an important point. Kasich has done nothing to address unemployment in the state. He seems to be putting all the blame on the public employees, and not the investment bankers who started the ball rolling into the great recession. While feeding their own greed, taking risks with other people's money, the actions of the Wall Street bankers caused massive layoffs, bank failures, the loss of retirement funds, and a massive economic downtown. But then again, why would Kasich blame them?
When Kasich was in Toledo, he spoke to the Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club. Here is something he said that strikes me as being odd, considering his attacks on teachers, state employees, firefighters, police officers, and other public employees.
FoxToledo:
....The Governor fell short of offering many solutions for change. He did, however, tout his 'Jobs Ohio' plan as a way to bolster business and reduce unemployment. The plan would essentially privatize the Ohio Department of Development and create a new, private Economic Development Board for the state.
Kasich said, "Because you get smart people in business who are talking to people in business and convincing them this is a great place to do things and can talk to them about there [sic] needs so we can respond to them."
What does Kasich mean when he says, "Because you get smart people in business..."?????
How does that make you feel that the governor of the state seems to think that business people are smarter than teachers and public employees?
Do you want some good news?
The Lantern:
A new proposal will extend consumer protections outlined in President Barack Obama's health care law to students purchasing health insurance plans through their college or university, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced in a conference call Wednesday.
Steve Larsen, director for the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight at the department, said the proposed regulations would prevent university and college insurers from:
• denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions to students age 19 or under
• placing lifetime limits on health care
• dropping coverage due to an error in paperwork
• using less than 80 percent of revenues generated by premiums on health care
"One of the most vulnerable groups of Americans in our old health insurance system is young adults," Larsen said.
This is why President Obama's health care reform law is so important to young people. Make sure your elected officials know that you support President Obama's health care law.
Dispatch:
"I have my own proposal right now," Kasich told reporters after a speech to the Ohio Newspaper Association in Columbus.
"We would outlaw strikes, and the penalties would either be firing or docked wages," the governor said.
Asked what recourse public union workers would have under his proposal, Kasich said, "They have a job. They should continue to negotiate and try to come up with something."
Kasich has only stirred up his rhetoric since becoming governor. He continues to blame Ohio's unions for the recession. (FYI: Kasich was a vice president at Lehman Brothers. This is the same Lehman Brothers that went bankrupt and caused the collapse of Wall Street. Kasich's ties to the state helped introduce Lehman Brothers big shots to the public retirement fund managers in Ohio. The state retirement systems lost $400 million when Lehman declared bankruptcy in the fall of 2008.)
Here is a view from someone who represents workers in Ohio. Tribune-Chronicle:
...Debbie Bindas, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 8 representative, said the proposed legislation - Senate Bill 5 - treats public workers like they are not part of the community. Council 8 represents city, county, township and health care workers for the entire state of Ohio and is one of three AFSCME branches in the state.
"I think the Senate is barking up the wrong tree. I think there are more important issues in Ohio regarding the economy, and it's called unemployment," Bindas said....
....''Public employees touch every aspect of our life, from treating the water we use to make our morning coffee to inspecting the restaurants where we eat on the weekends," Bindas said....
Bindas does raise an important point. Kasich has done nothing to address unemployment in the state. He seems to be putting all the blame on the public employees, and not the investment bankers who started the ball rolling into the great recession. While feeding their own greed, taking risks with other people's money, the actions of the Wall Street bankers caused massive layoffs, bank failures, the loss of retirement funds, and a massive economic downtown. But then again, why would Kasich blame them?
When Kasich was in Toledo, he spoke to the Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club. Here is something he said that strikes me as being odd, considering his attacks on teachers, state employees, firefighters, police officers, and other public employees.
FoxToledo:
....The Governor fell short of offering many solutions for change. He did, however, tout his 'Jobs Ohio' plan as a way to bolster business and reduce unemployment. The plan would essentially privatize the Ohio Department of Development and create a new, private Economic Development Board for the state.
Kasich said, "Because you get smart people in business who are talking to people in business and convincing them this is a great place to do things and can talk to them about there [sic] needs so we can respond to them."
What does Kasich mean when he says, "Because you get smart people in business..."?????
Does he mean that only business people are smart?
How does that make you feel that the governor of the state seems to think that business people are smarter than teachers and public employees?
_______________
Do you want some good news?
The Lantern:
A new proposal will extend consumer protections outlined in President Barack Obama's health care law to students purchasing health insurance plans through their college or university, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced in a conference call Wednesday.
Steve Larsen, director for the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight at the department, said the proposed regulations would prevent university and college insurers from:
• denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions to students age 19 or under
• placing lifetime limits on health care
• dropping coverage due to an error in paperwork
• using less than 80 percent of revenues generated by premiums on health care
"One of the most vulnerable groups of Americans in our old health insurance system is young adults," Larsen said.
This is why President Obama's health care reform law is so important to young people. Make sure your elected officials know that you support President Obama's health care law.
{Republican Rep. Steve Stivers (OH-15) needs to hear from you.
Tell him you support the President's health care reform:
Phone: (614) 299-6415 Fax: (614) 299-9601
or Email: https://stivers.house.gov/contact-me/email-me }
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Selling the Ohio Turnpike
Here is some background information for you to ponder:
According to Ohio.com, Gov. Kasich predicts that Ohio could make $2.5 billion, if he sells/leases the Ohio Turnpike. Wikipedia notes that the Ohio Turnpike is 241.26 miles.
Indiana, sold off their 157 miles of Toll Road and got $3.8 billion in 2006 (see Barron's).
Do you know what happened in Indiana after their toll road was sold off? The tolls increased. And one more thing-----
Barron's:
....the Indiana Toll Road is deeply in the red. Revenue of $155 million in 2008 was dwarfed by interest expense of $244 million. The highway looks hopelessly overleveraged amid disappointing growth in revenue and declines in traffic, prompted in part by the toll increases and the economy. The Indiana Toll Road is burning through an interest reserve and has a huge derivative liability of $1.9 billion for an interest-rate swap entered into in conjunction with the original debt financing to convert floating-rate debt to a fixed-rate obligation.
Amazingly, the lending agreement permits Macquarie and Cintra to take $28 million in annual dividends despite the road's heavy losses....
Then Barron's notes this-----
...We estimate the Indiana Toll Road might be worth $1.5 billion at most, or a generous 10 times annual revenue. That suggests that the banks may take a sizable hit when their loan matures in 2015, and that the buyers could lose their equity investments....
Do the losses suffered by the investors in the Indiana Toll Road influence potential investors for Ohio's roads?
According to Ohio.com, Gov. Kasich predicts that Ohio could make $2.5 billion, if he sells/leases the Ohio Turnpike. Wikipedia notes that the Ohio Turnpike is 241.26 miles.
Indiana, sold off their 157 miles of Toll Road and got $3.8 billion in 2006 (see Barron's).
Do you know what happened in Indiana after their toll road was sold off? The tolls increased. And one more thing-----
Barron's:
....the Indiana Toll Road is deeply in the red. Revenue of $155 million in 2008 was dwarfed by interest expense of $244 million. The highway looks hopelessly overleveraged amid disappointing growth in revenue and declines in traffic, prompted in part by the toll increases and the economy. The Indiana Toll Road is burning through an interest reserve and has a huge derivative liability of $1.9 billion for an interest-rate swap entered into in conjunction with the original debt financing to convert floating-rate debt to a fixed-rate obligation.
Amazingly, the lending agreement permits Macquarie and Cintra to take $28 million in annual dividends despite the road's heavy losses....
Then Barron's notes this-----
...We estimate the Indiana Toll Road might be worth $1.5 billion at most, or a generous 10 times annual revenue. That suggests that the banks may take a sizable hit when their loan matures in 2015, and that the buyers could lose their equity investments....
Do the losses suffered by the investors in the Indiana Toll Road influence potential investors for Ohio's roads?
More on Kasich's Agenda....
* Please check out StubbornLiberal today for my piece called, "The Neanderthals Among Us," about the fight between Santorum and Palin.
* Here is a real shocker! According to the DaytonBusinessJournal, the Dayton Chamber of Commerce is supporting Gov. Kasich'sRobsOhio JobOhio plan.
* Kasich and the Ohio Republicans have decided to strip Ohio's public employees of job protections offered in their new plan to wipe out collective bargaining. One idea pushed by Ohio Sen. Shannon Jones (Republican) is to eliminate pay scales based on years of service. Instead, public employees would get merit pay. If you've ever worked in an office or with other people, you are aware of office politics. If you're boss doesn't like you, harasses you, or disagrees with your point of view, you might never get a raise.
Kasich and the Ohio GOP are pushing merit pay for teachers and all public employees. There are many problems with that, especially for teachers.
Let us imagine that teacher "A" is a good teacher, young, attractive, has 5 years of experience, only a Bachelor's degree, and is friendly with the principal. Because of his/her friendship with the principal, teacher "A" tends to get all the smart, well-behaved children in his/her classroom, and they all perform extremely well on state tests.
Teacher "B" is a good teacher, has 20 years experience, a Masters +, but he/she has a respectful, working relationship with the principal. Teacher "B" always seems to have students with behavior problems, learning problems, and poor performing students placed in his/her classroom. Even though teacher "B" has improved the reading and math levels of her students, has good feedback from parents, has minimized negative classroom behavior, his/her students have shown average improvements on state tests.
According to Kasich and the GOPers, teacher "A" should be rewarded more even than teacher "B" because "A's" students did exceptionally better than those in the other classroom. Kasich and the Republicans want to change the way teachers, firefighters, police, nurses, and other public employees are paid, receive benefits, and have job protections. They even want to take away teacher sick days. (Obviously, Kasich and the Republicans have never been exposed to 25+ running noses/coughs on a daily basis.)
Kasich and his Republican cronies are trying to go after public employees as a means of punishing them for supporting Democrats. With an approval rating of 30%, Kasich is jeopardizing keeping that approval rating so high. Every teacher, firefighter, nurse, police officer, service employee, and public employee has families, relatives, and friends who will not approve of the blame game Kasich and his white Republicans are waging.
* Here is a real shocker! According to the DaytonBusinessJournal, the Dayton Chamber of Commerce is supporting Gov. Kasich's
* Kasich and the Ohio Republicans have decided to strip Ohio's public employees of job protections offered in their new plan to wipe out collective bargaining. One idea pushed by Ohio Sen. Shannon Jones (Republican) is to eliminate pay scales based on years of service. Instead, public employees would get merit pay. If you've ever worked in an office or with other people, you are aware of office politics. If you're boss doesn't like you, harasses you, or disagrees with your point of view, you might never get a raise.
Kasich and the Ohio GOP are pushing merit pay for teachers and all public employees. There are many problems with that, especially for teachers.
Let us imagine that teacher "A" is a good teacher, young, attractive, has 5 years of experience, only a Bachelor's degree, and is friendly with the principal. Because of his/her friendship with the principal, teacher "A" tends to get all the smart, well-behaved children in his/her classroom, and they all perform extremely well on state tests.
Teacher "B" is a good teacher, has 20 years experience, a Masters +, but he/she has a respectful, working relationship with the principal. Teacher "B" always seems to have students with behavior problems, learning problems, and poor performing students placed in his/her classroom. Even though teacher "B" has improved the reading and math levels of her students, has good feedback from parents, has minimized negative classroom behavior, his/her students have shown average improvements on state tests.
According to Kasich and the GOPers, teacher "A" should be rewarded more even than teacher "B" because "A's" students did exceptionally better than those in the other classroom. Kasich and the Republicans want to change the way teachers, firefighters, police, nurses, and other public employees are paid, receive benefits, and have job protections. They even want to take away teacher sick days. (Obviously, Kasich and the Republicans have never been exposed to 25+ running noses/coughs on a daily basis.)
Kasich and his Republican cronies are trying to go after public employees as a means of punishing them for supporting Democrats. With an approval rating of 30%, Kasich is jeopardizing keeping that approval rating so high. Every teacher, firefighter, nurse, police officer, service employee, and public employee has families, relatives, and friends who will not approve of the blame game Kasich and his white Republicans are waging.
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
"Most Dangerous Man in America?"
A diary at DailyKos has some strong arguments supporting the writer's nomination for the "Most Dangerous Man in America"----
...Imagine a guy whose first order of business was to reject a stim grant of $400M, intended to create passenger rail between Ohio's three largest cities, after he'd mocked the program ad nauseam during the campaign....
....if you combine freemarket economics, anti-government, pro-Wall Street, union hater and baiter, and major hubris into one person...and throw in a compliant State House and Senate, this is not a recipe that will fix Ohio.
One can only hope that Ohio's labor people, progressives, and folks who care about Ohio's future start pushing back. Now. Because this guy is scary.
Whoa!!!!!
**** Today, the Ohio Senate saw something it hasn't seen in a very long time----over 800 people voicing their opposition to a Republican bill to end collective bargaining. This bill has been pushed by Gov. John Kasich and introduced by Ohio Sen. Shannon Jones, R-Springboro.
Dispatch:
...Unions see it differently. "This is a blatant attack on working people in this state," said Anthony Caldwell, spokesman for SEIU District 1199. "This appears to be nothing more than political payback for organizations that did not support Sen. Jones or (Gov.) John Kasich."
Michele Prater of the Ohio Education Association said collective bargaining "helps pursue the classroom conditions, the tools and the support we need for high-quality education. Any legislation that would curb collective bargaining rights would upset Ohio's balanced framework."
Shame on the Republicans for trying to blame everything on working people, firefighters, police officers, university employees, teachers, nurses, and state employees. Kasich, Jones, and the rest of the do-nothing, hardly working Ohio Republicans won't solve the state's problems this way.
Call the Ohio Senate 1-800-282-0253 (466-8842 in Columbus) or your Ohio Senator and voice your opposition to this catastrophic legislation. Here are a few contact numbers to get you started:
District 1 Cliff Hite (R): (614) 466-8150, Email: SD01@senate.state.oh.us
District 2 Mark Wagoner (R): (614) 466-8060, Email: SD02@senate.state.oh.us
District 3 Kevin Bacon (R): (614) 466-8064, Email: SD03@senate.state.oh.us
District 4 Gary Cates (R): (614) 466-8072, Email: SD04@senate.state.oh.us
District 5 Bill Beagle (R): (614) 466-6247, Email: SD05@senate.state.oh.us
District 6 Peggy Lehner (R): (614) 466-4583, Email: SD06@senate.state.oh.us
District 7 Shannon Jones (R): (614) 466-9737, Email: SD07@senate.state.oh.us
* Check out the rest of the list at http://www.ohiosenate.gov/directory.html
**** You must visit http://www.whenarethejobs.com/ today. Speaker Boehner has been in office for over 35 days and has had "0" job creation bills.
...Imagine a guy whose first order of business was to reject a stim grant of $400M, intended to create passenger rail between Ohio's three largest cities, after he'd mocked the program ad nauseam during the campaign....
....if you combine freemarket economics, anti-government, pro-Wall Street, union hater and baiter, and major hubris into one person...and throw in a compliant State House and Senate, this is not a recipe that will fix Ohio.
One can only hope that Ohio's labor people, progressives, and folks who care about Ohio's future start pushing back. Now. Because this guy is scary.
Whoa!!!!!
**** Today, the Ohio Senate saw something it hasn't seen in a very long time----over 800 people voicing their opposition to a Republican bill to end collective bargaining. This bill has been pushed by Gov. John Kasich and introduced by Ohio Sen. Shannon Jones, R-Springboro.
Dispatch:
...Unions see it differently. "This is a blatant attack on working people in this state," said Anthony Caldwell, spokesman for SEIU District 1199. "This appears to be nothing more than political payback for organizations that did not support Sen. Jones or (Gov.) John Kasich."
Michele Prater of the Ohio Education Association said collective bargaining "helps pursue the classroom conditions, the tools and the support we need for high-quality education. Any legislation that would curb collective bargaining rights would upset Ohio's balanced framework."
Shame on the Republicans for trying to blame everything on working people, firefighters, police officers, university employees, teachers, nurses, and state employees. Kasich, Jones, and the rest of the do-nothing, hardly working Ohio Republicans won't solve the state's problems this way.
Call the Ohio Senate 1-800-282-0253 (466-8842 in Columbus) or your Ohio Senator and voice your opposition to this catastrophic legislation. Here are a few contact numbers to get you started:
District 1 Cliff Hite (R): (614) 466-8150, Email: SD01@senate.state.oh.us
District 2 Mark Wagoner (R): (614) 466-8060, Email: SD02@senate.state.oh.us
District 3 Kevin Bacon (R): (614) 466-8064, Email: SD03@senate.state.oh.us
District 4 Gary Cates (R): (614) 466-8072, Email: SD04@senate.state.oh.us
District 5 Bill Beagle (R): (614) 466-6247, Email: SD05@senate.state.oh.us
District 6 Peggy Lehner (R): (614) 466-4583, Email: SD06@senate.state.oh.us
District 7 Shannon Jones (R): (614) 466-9737, Email: SD07@senate.state.oh.us
* Check out the rest of the list at http://www.ohiosenate.gov/directory.html
**** You must visit http://www.whenarethejobs.com/ today. Speaker Boehner has been in office for over 35 days and has had "0" job creation bills.
Kasich's Education Cuts
* With a predicted deficit in the state budget and Republican Gov. Kasich's plans to provide more tax cuts for the rich, the funding for public education is a target for budget cuts.
ZanesvilleTimesRecorder:
More than 20 positions will be eliminated within Crooksville Exempted Village School District by the 2011-12 school year to make up for a $1 million loss in funding....
...The district has a $10 million operating budget, of which 82 percent is funded by the state....
...An educational realignment includes the restructuring of grades at each building, Newton said to protect educational programming and will meet legal and contractual needs. The change includes the inclusion of the eighth grade in the high school. Eighth-graders will be taught by high school teachers. The middle school will be converted from sixth through eighth grades to an intermediate school, which will include fourth through seventh grades. The elementary school will change from a kindergarten through fifth grade building to a primary school, which will house preschool through third-grade students....
Is this an indication of things to come in Ohio? Will the education of our children be sacrificed to give tax cuts to Kasich's rich friends?
How is Gov. Kasich going about redefining education in our state? Here is a hint from EducationWeek:
...Robert Sommers was named this week by Kasich as the "Director of the Governor's Office of 21st Century Education." While it's not a cabinet-level position, and doesn't require legislative approval, he will serve as a senior member of the governor's policy team.
The governor's office says that Sommers' role does not include overseeing the Ohio Department of Education, an independent agency, or the state superintendent of schools, Deborah S. Delisle, who has served in the post since 2008. But Sommers will coordinate with the agency and the state board of education, the governor's office told me.
Kasich's adviser, who will make $110,000 a year, formerly worked as the chief executive officer of Butler Tech, a career and technical education program in Hamilton, Ohio, and also served most recently as CEO of Cornerstone Charter Schools, in Detroit.
Parents and teachers cannot afford to let Kasich and his appointees redesign education in the state. When parents put their children in charter schools, state money goes to that charter where teachers and principals are not as qualified as their counterparts in public schools.
Charter school teachers are provided little equipment/supplies and paid slightly above the minimum wage. Classes are often held in converted stores, offices, and basements of buildings. This kind of atmosphere does not enhance education and, in many cases, the locations/buildings may pose a danger to the children. Often times, the only person gaining something from charter schools is the owner who is raking in a massive amount of money with a minimum amount of state oversight. The Republicans who designed the charter school system in Ohio have made sure that their political contributors who run charter schools are well-compensated and happy.
ZanesvilleTimesRecorder:
More than 20 positions will be eliminated within Crooksville Exempted Village School District by the 2011-12 school year to make up for a $1 million loss in funding....
...The district has a $10 million operating budget, of which 82 percent is funded by the state....
...An educational realignment includes the restructuring of grades at each building, Newton said to protect educational programming and will meet legal and contractual needs. The change includes the inclusion of the eighth grade in the high school. Eighth-graders will be taught by high school teachers. The middle school will be converted from sixth through eighth grades to an intermediate school, which will include fourth through seventh grades. The elementary school will change from a kindergarten through fifth grade building to a primary school, which will house preschool through third-grade students....
Is this an indication of things to come in Ohio? Will the education of our children be sacrificed to give tax cuts to Kasich's rich friends?
How is Gov. Kasich going about redefining education in our state? Here is a hint from EducationWeek:
...Robert Sommers was named this week by Kasich as the "Director of the Governor's Office of 21st Century Education." While it's not a cabinet-level position, and doesn't require legislative approval, he will serve as a senior member of the governor's policy team.
The governor's office says that Sommers' role does not include overseeing the Ohio Department of Education, an independent agency, or the state superintendent of schools, Deborah S. Delisle, who has served in the post since 2008. But Sommers will coordinate with the agency and the state board of education, the governor's office told me.
Kasich's adviser, who will make $110,000 a year, formerly worked as the chief executive officer of Butler Tech, a career and technical education program in Hamilton, Ohio, and also served most recently as CEO of Cornerstone Charter Schools, in Detroit.
Parents and teachers cannot afford to let Kasich and his appointees redesign education in the state. When parents put their children in charter schools, state money goes to that charter where teachers and principals are not as qualified as their counterparts in public schools.
Charter school teachers are provided little equipment/supplies and paid slightly above the minimum wage. Classes are often held in converted stores, offices, and basements of buildings. This kind of atmosphere does not enhance education and, in many cases, the locations/buildings may pose a danger to the children. Often times, the only person gaining something from charter schools is the owner who is raking in a massive amount of money with a minimum amount of state oversight. The Republicans who designed the charter school system in Ohio have made sure that their political contributors who run charter schools are well-compensated and happy.
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
Teachers, Firefighters, Police Officers, Nurses, Public Employees
The Republicans are playing the blame game and they are blaming YOU.
Blog.AFL-CIO:
....Following the lead of Gov. John Kasich, the Senate leaders are trying to shift the blame for the state’s economic woes onto the state’s public employees and their unions. The State Senate Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on the bill, SB 5, on Wednesday, and working people are mobilizing to stop it in its tracks.
If you live in Ohio, you can take action now. Click here now to urge your state to focus on addressing our jobs crisis instead of scapegoating workers for our economic problems.
Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga tells members in an e-mail:
The Republicans are playing with people's lives and they are going after teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters, state employees, and others. The Ohio Republicans are moving to end collective bargaining for public employees. The AFL-CIO suggests that teachers, nurses, firefighters, police officers, and other public employees contact their State Senator to voice you opposition to SB5.
Here is the list of members of the Ohio Senate: http://www.ohiosenate.gov/directory.html
or you may use this from the Ohio Senate site:
Contact your state senator directly or call the toll-free legislative hotline at 1-800-282-0253 (466-8842 in Columbus) to get information about pending legislation.
* The people in Lancaster are going to see some major cuts to an important program.
Lancaster Eagle Gazette:
The Lancaster Public Transit system has lost a $1.2 million grant to expand its public transit system countywide....
....During former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland’s administration, the Ohio Department of Transportation pledged $150 million to assist Ohio transit agencies during the next three years.
But Gov. John Kasich’s newly-appointed ODOT director, Jerry Wray, announced Tuesday the program would be reduced to $40 million in 2011, $20 million in 2012 and $20 million in 2013. The other $70 million will be used to pay down the department’s debt, Wray said....
Why are Wray and Kasich so against public transit?
Blog.AFL-CIO:
....Following the lead of Gov. John Kasich, the Senate leaders are trying to shift the blame for the state’s economic woes onto the state’s public employees and their unions. The State Senate Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on the bill, SB 5, on Wednesday, and working people are mobilizing to stop it in its tracks.
If you live in Ohio, you can take action now. Click here now to urge your state to focus on addressing our jobs crisis instead of scapegoating workers for our economic problems.
Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga tells members in an e-mail:
Senator Jones, Governor Kasich and their political allies continue to blame workers for problems they did not create. Workers are not the reason tens of thousands of jobs have been outsourced from Ohio to China or Mexico. Workers did not create the economic recession that increased joblessness and pushed working families out of their homes. Workers are not the cause of Ohio’s $8 billion projected budget deficit....
The Republicans are playing with people's lives and they are going after teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters, state employees, and others. The Ohio Republicans are moving to end collective bargaining for public employees. The AFL-CIO suggests that teachers, nurses, firefighters, police officers, and other public employees contact their State Senator to voice you opposition to SB5.
Here is the list of members of the Ohio Senate: http://www.ohiosenate.gov/directory.html
or you may use this from the Ohio Senate site:
Contact your state senator directly or call the toll-free legislative hotline at 1-800-282-0253 (466-8842 in Columbus) to get information about pending legislation.
-------------------------------
* The people in Lancaster are going to see some major cuts to an important program.
Lancaster Eagle Gazette:
The Lancaster Public Transit system has lost a $1.2 million grant to expand its public transit system countywide....
....During former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland’s administration, the Ohio Department of Transportation pledged $150 million to assist Ohio transit agencies during the next three years.
But Gov. John Kasich’s newly-appointed ODOT director, Jerry Wray, announced Tuesday the program would be reduced to $40 million in 2011, $20 million in 2012 and $20 million in 2013. The other $70 million will be used to pay down the department’s debt, Wray said....
Why are Wray and Kasich so against public transit?
GOP Laziness
>>>> If you live in Ohio's 15th congressional district, you might be under the assumption that newly elected former bank lobbyist, Republican Rep. Steve Stivers, and the Republican leadership are hard at work in the U.S. House of Representatives.
WRONG!
The Republican leadership in the U.S. House have created a work calendar that shows their lack of work ethics. The Republican leadership has published their calendar for the year:
From the website of Eric Cantor, Majority Leader:
2011 Legislative Calendar
If you're waiting for Steve Stivers, John Boehner, Eric Cantor, and the rest of the lazy Republicans to create jobs, you are out of luck. They'll get paid, even though their unemployed constituents and business supporters continue to wait for the Republicans to deliver on their promises. While their published calendar indicates only 123 work days for 2011, the Republicans cannot be accused of overworking. The Republicans can get elected but are unable to provide new jobs and positive leadership.
I'm suggesting a new slogan for the Republicans:
* Isn't it incredible that the Ohio Republicans in the Ohio General Assembly are willing to give up transparency in Gov. John Kasich's JobOhio plan (aka as "Robs Ohio" per Plunderbund)? Even though Ohio Democrats tried to add some transparency and guidelines to allow the public to see how Kasich's privatization plan, the Republican members refused to add rules for the public's right to know.
Ohio Democrats have not given up the fight. In an effort to allow the public to see how their tax money is spent, a Democrat in the Ohio House is still fighting the good fight for transparency.
Moneyinpolitics:
....A new bill by Rep. Matt Lundy, D-Elyria, would require that JobsOhio, Gov. John Kasich’s proposed nonprofit corporation designed to bring jobs to the state, must adhere to the state’s current public-records and open-meetings laws.
‘There is nothing in the current state public-records law that prohibits sensitive or confidential business information from being just that, confidential,’ he said...
The whole privatization ploy by Kasich and his Republicans smells of possible scandals, misuse of public funds, and backroom deals for cronies. Obviously, the Republicans have already forgotten how Tom Noe was able to invest funds from the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation in Beanie Babies and coins. Needless to say, the scandals saw the state lose hundreds of millions of dollars and provided years of work for lawyers, prosecutors, investigators, and grand juries.
Are we willing to let the Republicans spend our tax money on backroom deals?
WRONG!
The Republican leadership in the U.S. House have created a work calendar that shows their lack of work ethics. The Republican leadership has published their calendar for the year:
From the website of Eric Cantor, Majority Leader:
2011 Legislative Calendar
If you're waiting for Steve Stivers, John Boehner, Eric Cantor, and the rest of the lazy Republicans to create jobs, you are out of luck. They'll get paid, even though their unemployed constituents and business supporters continue to wait for the Republicans to deliver on their promises. While their published calendar indicates only 123 work days for 2011, the Republicans cannot be accused of overworking. The Republicans can get elected but are unable to provide new jobs and positive leadership.
I'm suggesting a new slogan for the Republicans:
No We Can't
____________
Ohio Democrats have not given up the fight. In an effort to allow the public to see how their tax money is spent, a Democrat in the Ohio House is still fighting the good fight for transparency.
Moneyinpolitics:
....A new bill by Rep. Matt Lundy, D-Elyria, would require that JobsOhio, Gov. John Kasich’s proposed nonprofit corporation designed to bring jobs to the state, must adhere to the state’s current public-records and open-meetings laws.
‘There is nothing in the current state public-records law that prohibits sensitive or confidential business information from being just that, confidential,’ he said...
The whole privatization ploy by Kasich and his Republicans smells of possible scandals, misuse of public funds, and backroom deals for cronies. Obviously, the Republicans have already forgotten how Tom Noe was able to invest funds from the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation in Beanie Babies and coins. Needless to say, the scandals saw the state lose hundreds of millions of dollars and provided years of work for lawyers, prosecutors, investigators, and grand juries.
Are we willing to let the Republicans spend our tax money on backroom deals?
Monday, February 07, 2011
Facts
Isn't just like members of the Ohio GOP to make up their own statistics? Ohio House Speaker William Batchelder, has been creating some tall tales of his own.
Politifact rates Batchelder's latest quote as "PANTS ON FIRE" on the Truth-o-Meter:
...He made the statement during a Jan. 4 interview on WCPN 90.3 FM’s "Sound of Ideas" radio program. He also said reducing the number of ex-cons who return to prison is critical to any reform effort.
"I think it’s important also from the stand point of getting (prisoners) back into society, so we are not always faced constantly with recidivism, which is a big problem in the penitentiary today – in the 70 to 80 percent range."
"I think it’s important also from the stand point of getting (prisoners) back into society, so we are not always faced constantly with recidivism, which is a big problem in the penitentiary today – in the 70 to 80 percent range."
....But his claim that recidivism "is a big problem in the penitentiary today – in the 70 to 80 percent range" isn’t even close. And to cite as support a misapplied figure from a report that didn’t exist when he made the statement is ridiculous....
Batchelder needs to follow the axiom, "When in doubt, check it out." You cannot make up your own facts to suit your agenda. As Politifact states, Batchelder's statistics get the "Pants On Fire" rating.
__________________
*** Gov. John Kasich's lack of diversity is not only evident in his nearly all white cabinet appointees, but also as it relates to women and others with diverse opinions.
....State Sen. Shirley Smith, D-Cleveland, said it appears Kasich is taking the same approach when it comes to assignments in his administration. His four female department heads lead staffs that average 760 workers and have budgets that average $441 million. His 17 male department heads’ budgets average $1.9 billion and their staffs average 2,500.....
Barbara Riley, who headed one of the state’s largest departments under Gov. Bob Taft and one of the smaller departments under Gov. Ted Strickland, cautioned that diversity of thought and philosophy is important too.
“Surrounding yourself with people who think as you do and perhaps parrot what you say isn’t conducive to good government. I don’t care if you’re meeting any kind of metric at all, the point is to have people at the table who will be willing to contradict and lay out perhaps more challenging ideas,” Riley said. “I think you need to be challenged.”
Kasich's list of similar-thinking people (aka as sheeple), clearly does not provide him with anyone who will question him. Does he see himself as an "all knowing" leader who is afraid to hear opposing views?
_________
>>>>> Women in Ohio should note that the Republican controlled General Assembly is not working to get people back to work. Their concerns have turned to women and their uteruses.
....The furor over late-term abortions is largely manufactured. In Ohio, fewer than 28,000 pregnancies were terminated in 2009, according to the state Health Department. That's a decrease of about 40 percent since 2000.
Don't you wish that the mostly white male Ohio Republican party would be less concerned with the biology of women and more concerned with job creation? Unfortunately, other Republicans want to change other things as well.
U.S. House Republicans have received a great deal of attention over the past week since seeking to qualify the crime of rape with the term “forcible” in a high-profile piece of legislation. Such a distinction could create classes of rape victims, with “forcible rape” victims somehow being ordained as worse off than victims of statutory rape, date rape, rape by coercion or deception, rape of the disabled or mentally impaired… You get the picture.....
.....Georgia Republican state Rep. Bobby Franklin (of gold-standard-wannabe fame) has introduced a bill to change the state’s criminal codes so that in “criminal law and criminal procedure” (read: in court), victims of rape, stalking, and family violence could only be referred to as “accusers” until the defendant has been convicted.....
.....To diminish a victim’s ordeal by branding him/her an accuser essentially questions whether the crime committed against the victim is a crime at all. Robbery, assault, and fraud are all real crimes with real victims, the Republican asserts with this bill.....
Why would anyone question a rape victim in this manner? What are Republicans trying to do to women?
Friday, February 04, 2011
Leasing Out for Ohio Parks for Oil/Gas Exploration
Did you know that all property and state parks owned/managed by ODNR (Ohio Department of Natural Resources) will be leased out for oil and gas exploration? Word is spreading like wildfire that this is a done deal.
Seems like some of the information and events about the exploration/drilling, resident's mineral rights, and well inspections have been happening outside of central Ohio. Of course, there might be political reasons that some of the public information meetings on gas/oil exploration in our state parks are not being covered by the local central Ohio media.
Cantonrep:
....A panel of Ohio Department of Natural Resources mineral resources managers, including deputy chief Tom Tugend, discussed the state’s oil and gas regulations and took questions during a presentation at Oakwood Middle School. About 500 people attended....
...some residents who haven’t signed lease agreements said they are worried they could be forced to surrender their mineral rights if neighbors allow drilling.
ODNR well permitting manager Mike McCormac said residents won’t lose their mineral rights, but they might be required through a mandatory pooling process to let companies drill under their property if the majority of their neighbors want drilling. Mandatory pooling is a long process and rulings can be appealed, McCormac said.....
The meeting was organized, according to the article, by ".....Plain Township trustee Louis Giavasis and Ohio Rep. Kirk Schuring, R-Jackson Township...." A quick check of the Ohio Secretary of State campaign finance website does indicate that Schuring, a Republican, has enjoyed some campaign contributions from individuals associated with oil and gas companies. Is he just helping out his friends?
Are you looking forward to a nice picnic in your nearby state park this summer with the sounds and air/water pollution coming from the drilling in the area? Cough. Cough.
Seems like some of the information and events about the exploration/drilling, resident's mineral rights, and well inspections have been happening outside of central Ohio. Of course, there might be political reasons that some of the public information meetings on gas/oil exploration in our state parks are not being covered by the local central Ohio media.
Cantonrep:
....A panel of Ohio Department of Natural Resources mineral resources managers, including deputy chief Tom Tugend, discussed the state’s oil and gas regulations and took questions during a presentation at Oakwood Middle School. About 500 people attended....
...some residents who haven’t signed lease agreements said they are worried they could be forced to surrender their mineral rights if neighbors allow drilling.
ODNR well permitting manager Mike McCormac said residents won’t lose their mineral rights, but they might be required through a mandatory pooling process to let companies drill under their property if the majority of their neighbors want drilling. Mandatory pooling is a long process and rulings can be appealed, McCormac said.....
The meeting was organized, according to the article, by ".....Plain Township trustee Louis Giavasis and Ohio Rep. Kirk Schuring, R-Jackson Township...." A quick check of the Ohio Secretary of State campaign finance website does indicate that Schuring, a Republican, has enjoyed some campaign contributions from individuals associated with oil and gas companies. Is he just helping out his friends?
Are you looking forward to a nice picnic in your nearby state park this summer with the sounds and air/water pollution coming from the drilling in the area? Cough. Cough.
Colbert Report Exposes Kasich's Racism
I saw this over at http://twitter.com/10bagspacking this morning.
Stephen Colbert explains Gov. John Kasich's racism in that special way:
Colbertnation
Is this the kind of attention that the Kasich administration has brought us? Don't you feel like Kasich has taken us back two hundred years?
Stephen Colbert explains Gov. John Kasich's racism in that special way:
Colbertnation
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Affirmative Reaction | ||||
| ||||
Is this the kind of attention that the Kasich administration has brought us? Don't you feel like Kasich has taken us back two hundred years?
Thursday, February 03, 2011
Kasich: "....give management more control..."
Gov. John Kasich was in Cleveland where he let business leaders know that there are many things wrong in Ohio. Naturally, he went after the usual suspects:
Ideastream:
...Speaking at a lunch event held by the Greater Cleveland Partnership, Kasich covered little new ground, instead reiterating the message he’s delivered since taking office – that Ohio needs to get its economic mojo back with new thinking that lowers income taxes, changes zoning regulations for businesses and streamlines the government....
.....He also repeated his plans to change the collective bargaining law in Ohio and limit the power of public employee unions.
Kasich: “I believe that by giving management more control, eliminating the right to strike, and eliminating binding arbitration it will help our communities.”
Wow. Sounds like Kasich would like to return to the days before workers had rights, weekends, benefits, days off, etc. Isn't that why workers organized in the first place?
Ideastream:
...Speaking at a lunch event held by the Greater Cleveland Partnership, Kasich covered little new ground, instead reiterating the message he’s delivered since taking office – that Ohio needs to get its economic mojo back with new thinking that lowers income taxes, changes zoning regulations for businesses and streamlines the government....
.....He also repeated his plans to change the collective bargaining law in Ohio and limit the power of public employee unions.
Kasich: “I believe that by giving management more control, eliminating the right to strike, and eliminating binding arbitration it will help our communities.”
Wow. Sounds like Kasich would like to return to the days before workers had rights, weekends, benefits, days off, etc. Isn't that why workers organized in the first place?
Wasting Money At the Speed of Light
While Gov. John Kasich plans to make major cuts in education, Medicaid, care for the elderly, and every state agency, etc., he certainly knows how to spend money.
DaytonDailyNews:
Records show a meeting called last month by Gov. John Kasich cost the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency more than $5,000.
Documents obtained by The Associated Press show the EPA spent almost $4,300 in transportation costs and an estimated $1,150 in other venue charges for the Columbus meeting.
All 1,200 EPA employees — including those from two hours away — were encouraged to attend the Jan. 21 meeting to hear the governor's vision for the agency....
How much money would it have cost for a conference call? Someone needs to tell Kasich that he isn't on Wall Street and he isn't a king.
DaytonDailyNews:
Records show a meeting called last month by Gov. John Kasich cost the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency more than $5,000.
Documents obtained by The Associated Press show the EPA spent almost $4,300 in transportation costs and an estimated $1,150 in other venue charges for the Columbus meeting.
All 1,200 EPA employees — including those from two hours away — were encouraged to attend the Jan. 21 meeting to hear the governor's vision for the agency....
How much money would it have cost for a conference call? Someone needs to tell Kasich that he isn't on Wall Street and he isn't a king.
Those Hardworking Republicans? HA!
* I do not understand why Republicans continue to worship Ronald Reagan! I thought his entire administration and resulting scandals were a disaster.
* The Other Paper wonders what the Ohio Republicans are hoping for when say that the new Kasich JobOhio will "...move at the speed of business..."? The secrecy and potential for conflict of interest scares a lot of Ohioans. Why do we need to reward Kasich's handpicked cronies? (By the way, as noted in the article, business doesn't move very fast. There is one exception - when they are taking/losing your money. Example: The business known as Lehman Brothers lost hundreds of millions of dollars for Ohio's public pension funds as well as pension/retirement funds from all over the country. That money disappeared fast.)
* Ohio Republicans and their business buddies are touting the work of Republican Rep. Steve Stivers. Why? Even though Stivers has not created one job, Stivers continues to push for more corporate tax cuts. That is why Stivers is such a big hit at all the Chamber of Commerce meetings he attends. How many meetings did the Chamber of Commerce host for former Democratic Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy???
* Those Republicans in the Ohio Senate have set up a backbreaking schedule for the month of February! According to the calendar posted at Ohio Senate Session Dates, the Ohio Senate and committees will meet exactly 9 days in the month of February. (This schedule is in conflict with the other session dates posted at the Legislative Schedules which has 11 days at work.)
The Republican controlled Ohio House has 12 scheduled work days posted (http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/today.cfm). With the state facing a huge deficit, it is amazing to see how the elected Republicans seem to have an allergy with putting in more session and committee work days. I guess the Ohio Republicans know how to get elected but seem unwilling to actually put in much effort to fix the state's ills.
According my calculations, there are 19 potential workdays in the month of February that the Republican controlled General Assembly could work on getting people back to work. Unfortunately, the elected Republicans only seem concerned with collecting their own paychecks and writing legislation concerning women's uteruses.
*** Plunderbund, which knows more about the Kasich administration than Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, has discovered which African-Americans turned down jobs with the nearly all-white cabinet (one African-American appointee).
* The Other Paper wonders what the Ohio Republicans are hoping for when say that the new Kasich JobOhio will "...move at the speed of business..."? The secrecy and potential for conflict of interest scares a lot of Ohioans. Why do we need to reward Kasich's handpicked cronies? (By the way, as noted in the article, business doesn't move very fast. There is one exception - when they are taking/losing your money. Example: The business known as Lehman Brothers lost hundreds of millions of dollars for Ohio's public pension funds as well as pension/retirement funds from all over the country. That money disappeared fast.)
* Ohio Republicans and their business buddies are touting the work of Republican Rep. Steve Stivers. Why? Even though Stivers has not created one job, Stivers continues to push for more corporate tax cuts. That is why Stivers is such a big hit at all the Chamber of Commerce meetings he attends. How many meetings did the Chamber of Commerce host for former Democratic Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy???
* Those Republicans in the Ohio Senate have set up a backbreaking schedule for the month of February! According to the calendar posted at Ohio Senate Session Dates, the Ohio Senate and committees will meet exactly 9 days in the month of February. (This schedule is in conflict with the other session dates posted at the Legislative Schedules which has 11 days at work.)
The Republican controlled Ohio House has 12 scheduled work days posted (http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/today.cfm). With the state facing a huge deficit, it is amazing to see how the elected Republicans seem to have an allergy with putting in more session and committee work days. I guess the Ohio Republicans know how to get elected but seem unwilling to actually put in much effort to fix the state's ills.
According my calculations, there are 19 potential workdays in the month of February that the Republican controlled General Assembly could work on getting people back to work. Unfortunately, the elected Republicans only seem concerned with collecting their own paychecks and writing legislation concerning women's uteruses.
*** Plunderbund, which knows more about the Kasich administration than Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, has discovered which African-Americans turned down jobs with the nearly all-white cabinet (one African-American appointee).
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Protect Corporations?
While visiting the Ohio State campus, Republican Rep. Steve Stivers (OH-15), a former bank lobbyist, indicated some budget cuts that he'd like to see made.
The Lantern:
...Stivers, who received his MBA from OSU in 1996, said funding for state colleges comes mostly from the state, tuition and private endowments. But reapportioning money from other sources, such as the Workforce Development Training Fund, can overcome effects of the cuts....
....Stivers said the uncertain economic climate resulting from the 2008 recession has led businesses to save revenues instead of using them to expand operations and create more jobs. Lowering corporate tax rates and easing government regulations, he said, will embolden businesses to withdraw some of those funds.....
I have a few problems with what Stivers said. The Workforce Development Training Fund is an important program because it helps minorities and the unemployed get help with education and job training. Going after this program, is wrong.
The other problem I have with the remarks by Stivers has to do with what he said that is part of the Republican mantra -- "....lowering corporate taxes and easing government regulations..." Businesses and corporations, especially banks, are sitting on huge, obscene profits which they are then turning into bonuses for their executives, instead of creating jobs. Why should we give more tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy? Stivers said we should cut government regulations? Someone needs to ask Stivers to get more specific. Safety, security, salary protections, sexual harassment laws, child labor laws, and other laws/rules provide the necessary foundation against job dangers, inequality and unscrupulous companies/business owners.
When you examine the priorities pushed by Steve Stivers you might wonder why he thinks tax cuts for corporations and the elimination of regulations are more important than creating jobs, helping the unemployed, protecting workers, and providing health insurance for the uninsured.
Really? Does Kasich know that much about business? Didn't he work for a company that went bankrupt and lost nearly $400 million from the Ohio public pensions? Didn't Lehman Brothers also lose hundreds of millions of dollars from other retirement/pension plans around the country? Didn't Lehman Brothers begin the collapse of Wall Street? Why should anyone have any confidence in the business acumen of John Kasich?
* Last night at 5:45 pm, Gov. Kasich wasted our time with an unorganized televised statement/news conference concerning the upcoming winter storm. Instead of having a news bulletin/release sent to television and radio stations, Kasich showed up announcing a big storm was coming and the public should be prepared. Luckily, most news stations in central Ohio cut out on the live broadcast after three minutes.
The Lantern:
...Stivers, who received his MBA from OSU in 1996, said funding for state colleges comes mostly from the state, tuition and private endowments. But reapportioning money from other sources, such as the Workforce Development Training Fund, can overcome effects of the cuts....
....Stivers said the uncertain economic climate resulting from the 2008 recession has led businesses to save revenues instead of using them to expand operations and create more jobs. Lowering corporate tax rates and easing government regulations, he said, will embolden businesses to withdraw some of those funds.....
I have a few problems with what Stivers said. The Workforce Development Training Fund is an important program because it helps minorities and the unemployed get help with education and job training. Going after this program, is wrong.
The other problem I have with the remarks by Stivers has to do with what he said that is part of the Republican mantra -- "....lowering corporate taxes and easing government regulations..." Businesses and corporations, especially banks, are sitting on huge, obscene profits which they are then turning into bonuses for their executives, instead of creating jobs. Why should we give more tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy? Stivers said we should cut government regulations? Someone needs to ask Stivers to get more specific. Safety, security, salary protections, sexual harassment laws, child labor laws, and other laws/rules provide the necessary foundation against job dangers, inequality and unscrupulous companies/business owners.
When you examine the priorities pushed by Steve Stivers you might wonder why he thinks tax cuts for corporations and the elimination of regulations are more important than creating jobs, helping the unemployed, protecting workers, and providing health insurance for the uninsured.
______________
Gov. John Kasich, Republican governor of Ohio, had his plan to privatize job development pass the Ohio House. Kasich, who spent nearly a decade as a Vice President at Lehman Brothers and talk show host at Fox News, continues to degrade and attack his opponents and those calling for government transparency.
...Kasich and his point-man on efforts to improve the state's economy, Department of Development Director Mark Kvamme, met with about 60 executives at the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, the paper reports. There, he took on detractors of his development privatization plan, saying they “don't know squat about business.”
* Last night at 5:45 pm, Gov. Kasich wasted our time with an unorganized televised statement/news conference concerning the upcoming winter storm. Instead of having a news bulletin/release sent to television and radio stations, Kasich showed up announcing a big storm was coming and the public should be prepared. Luckily, most news stations in central Ohio cut out on the live broadcast after three minutes.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Coincidence?
Ohio Republican, Gov. John Kasich, let it be known that he is thinking about privatizing or selling off some assets of the state of Ohio. Besides the Ohio Turnpike, Kasich is also considering selling Ohio prisons to private companies. Wait! There is more!
DaytonDailyNews:
State lobbyist registration documents show a long-time adviser and political ally to Gov. John Kasich (KAY'-sik) has lined up a stable of clients he'll pitch to the new administration that specialize in energy, education, technology and private prisons.
One of Don Thibaut's (TEE'-bohz) clients, Corrections Corporation of America, could stand to gain if Kasich pursues expanded prison privatization to help close an estimated $8 billion budget gap. The company retained Thibaut's new lobbying firm in mid-December.
Thibaut spent nearly 20 years as Kasich's chief of staff in Congress and received compensation through political committees associated with Kasich for a decade.....
There is even more information about Kasich's relationship with Thibaut------
DaytonDailyNews (August 18, 2010) and Plunderbund confirmed that when Kasich had that cushy job at Ohio State ($50,000/year for a couple of hours of work per month for twelve years), the special assistant to Kasich who received $20,000/yr. from OSU was.....
Don Thibaut!
And.......
I wrote the following information on Ohio15thblog 8/19/2010:
According to an article at Tobaccodocuments, (scroll down to the end of the page) Thibaut was part of Kasich's staff in 1995. When Kasich served in Congress, Thibaut was his roommate in DC. In 2008, Kasich announced the formation of his PAC (see Dispatch) at a party at Thibaut's home.
We are all waiting to see what happens. Will Thibaut's client, Corrections Corporation of America, get a contract with the state?
DaytonDailyNews:
State lobbyist registration documents show a long-time adviser and political ally to Gov. John Kasich (KAY'-sik) has lined up a stable of clients he'll pitch to the new administration that specialize in energy, education, technology and private prisons.
One of Don Thibaut's (TEE'-bohz) clients, Corrections Corporation of America, could stand to gain if Kasich pursues expanded prison privatization to help close an estimated $8 billion budget gap. The company retained Thibaut's new lobbying firm in mid-December.
Thibaut spent nearly 20 years as Kasich's chief of staff in Congress and received compensation through political committees associated with Kasich for a decade.....
There is even more information about Kasich's relationship with Thibaut------
DaytonDailyNews (August 18, 2010) and Plunderbund confirmed that when Kasich had that cushy job at Ohio State ($50,000/year for a couple of hours of work per month for twelve years), the special assistant to Kasich who received $20,000/yr. from OSU was.....
Don Thibaut!
And.......
I wrote the following information on Ohio15thblog 8/19/2010:
According to an article at Tobaccodocuments, (scroll down to the end of the page) Thibaut was part of Kasich's staff in 1995. When Kasich served in Congress, Thibaut was his roommate in DC. In 2008, Kasich announced the formation of his PAC (see Dispatch) at a party at Thibaut's home.
We are all waiting to see what happens. Will Thibaut's client, Corrections Corporation of America, get a contract with the state?
Getting Tired?
Did you ever feel as though you are getting tired of the same old litany from the Republicans? Republicans continue to repeat their mantra that includes - lower taxes, government should work like a business, eliminate Social Security, cut Medicare and Medicaid, union workers are bad, etc., etc., etc. They just repeat the same words over and over again hoping that the public will believe them. We have to remember that just because the Republicans say something, doesn't make it a fact.
In the response to President Obama's State of the Union, Rep. Paul Ryan made some outrageous statements concerning Ireland and the United States. According to Ryan, the U.S. was heading down the path of financial ruin like Ireland. However, Republican Rep. Paul Ryan is wrong, very wrong.
Here is what Paul Krugman (Denver Post) had to say about Rep. Paul Ryan's statements following the State of the Union speech:
.....Ryan made highly dubious assertions about employment, health care and more. But what caught my eye was what he said about other countries: "Just take a look at what's happening to Greece, Ireland, the United Kingdom and other nations in Europe. They didn't act soon enough, and now their governments have been forced to impose painful austerity measures: large benefit cuts to seniors and huge tax increases on everybody."
.....The lesson of the Irish debacle, then, is very nearly the opposite of what Ryan would have us believe. It doesn't say "cut spending now, or bad things will happen"; it says that balanced budgets won't protect you from crisis if you don't effectively regulate your banks.....
....Ryan is widely portrayed as an intellectual leader within the GOP, with special expertise on matters of debt and deficits. So the revelation that he literally doesn't know the first thing about the debt crises currently in progress is, as I said, interesting — and not in a good way.
Rep. Paul Ryan failed to mention that his so called "Road Map" is really a road map to ruin for the middle class -- privatizing Medicare and handing out vouchers- would clearly hurt the elderly, the ill, and struggling working families. Paul Ryan and his self-absorbed life just doesn't seem to have much contact with reality when it comes to the needs of the American people.
In the response to President Obama's State of the Union, Rep. Paul Ryan made some outrageous statements concerning Ireland and the United States. According to Ryan, the U.S. was heading down the path of financial ruin like Ireland. However, Republican Rep. Paul Ryan is wrong, very wrong.
Here is what Paul Krugman (Denver Post) had to say about Rep. Paul Ryan's statements following the State of the Union speech:
.....Ryan made highly dubious assertions about employment, health care and more. But what caught my eye was what he said about other countries: "Just take a look at what's happening to Greece, Ireland, the United Kingdom and other nations in Europe. They didn't act soon enough, and now their governments have been forced to impose painful austerity measures: large benefit cuts to seniors and huge tax increases on everybody."
.....The lesson of the Irish debacle, then, is very nearly the opposite of what Ryan would have us believe. It doesn't say "cut spending now, or bad things will happen"; it says that balanced budgets won't protect you from crisis if you don't effectively regulate your banks.....
....Ryan is widely portrayed as an intellectual leader within the GOP, with special expertise on matters of debt and deficits. So the revelation that he literally doesn't know the first thing about the debt crises currently in progress is, as I said, interesting — and not in a good way.
Rep. Paul Ryan failed to mention that his so called "Road Map" is really a road map to ruin for the middle class -- privatizing Medicare and handing out vouchers- would clearly hurt the elderly, the ill, and struggling working families. Paul Ryan and his self-absorbed life just doesn't seem to have much contact with reality when it comes to the needs of the American people.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
You Know You're In Trouble....
You know you're in trouble when an editorial in a conservative newspaper takes you to task. Once again, Republican Gov. John Kasich has been criticized for the composition of his administrative and personal staff.
ChillicotheGazette:
...Jeers to a cabinet that takes Ohio back to the 1960s. For the first time since 1962, Gov. John Kasich has chosen a cabinet with no minorities on it. Diversity is one of Ohio's many strengths, and the cabinet should reflect that diversity. While Kasich had two African-Americans turn him down for positions, it's important that many divergent views are represented with quality people of color.....
Do we have the names of the two African-American individuals that turned Kasich's job offers down???? If he did have two African-American job candidates turn him down, why did he stop looking for others to fill positions?
ChillicotheGazette:
...Jeers to a cabinet that takes Ohio back to the 1960s. For the first time since 1962, Gov. John Kasich has chosen a cabinet with no minorities on it. Diversity is one of Ohio's many strengths, and the cabinet should reflect that diversity. While Kasich had two African-Americans turn him down for positions, it's important that many divergent views are represented with quality people of color.....
Do we have the names of the two African-American individuals that turned Kasich's job offers down???? If he did have two African-American job candidates turn him down, why did he stop looking for others to fill positions?
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Kasich, "I don't need your people."
Gov. John Kasich, Republican, has the first all white cabinet since 1962. Apparently, that doesn't bother him. Today, according to 10TV, Gov. Kasich said something to the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus, that caught everyone by surprise. The Legislative Black Caucus met with Kasich to discuss his lack of diversity in his hires.
10TV.com:
...State Sen. Nina Turner said Kasich told her "I don't need your people" when she complained about the lack of diversity in his administration. That prompted the Cleveland Democrat to unleash this scathing attack.
"Through his actions and deeds, Gov. Kasich has declared that Ohio is open for business, but if you are African-American you need not apply," said Turner.....
"We want 100 percent transparency as to who has applied for these positions, what they have applied for and reasons as to why these people have not been qualified to work in his administration," said Turner.....
Kasich said in his inaugural speech that he wanted people to work together. Unfortunately, we've discovered that Kasich only wants to work together with certain people.
10TV.com:
...State Sen. Nina Turner said Kasich told her "I don't need your people" when she complained about the lack of diversity in his administration. That prompted the Cleveland Democrat to unleash this scathing attack.
"Through his actions and deeds, Gov. Kasich has declared that Ohio is open for business, but if you are African-American you need not apply," said Turner.....
"We want 100 percent transparency as to who has applied for these positions, what they have applied for and reasons as to why these people have not been qualified to work in his administration," said Turner.....
Kasich said in his inaugural speech that he wanted people to work together. Unfortunately, we've discovered that Kasich only wants to work together with certain people.
Stivers Wants You to Lose Health Benefits
Republican Rep. Steve Stivers has not delivered any new jobs to Ohio's 15th district. If you'd like to talk to him, go visit at the Madison County Courthouse, 1 N. Main Street, London, Ohio on Monday, January 31st, from 10am-12noon. This is according to his Madison County Facebook page. Does he have a Franklin County Facebook page?
Stivers voted to repeal the health care law even though the impact on people in Ohio's 15th district would be devastating. According to a report, the repeal of health care would impact men, women, and children in Ohio's 15th in the following ways:
Stivers voted to repeal the health care law even though the impact on people in Ohio's 15th district would be devastating. According to a report, the repeal of health care would impact men, women, and children in Ohio's 15th in the following ways:
- Allowing insurance companies to deny coverage to 111,000 to 299,000 individuals, including 8,000 to 38,000 children, with pre-existing conditions.
- Rescinding consumer protections for 453,000 individuals who have health insurance through their employer or the market for private insurance.
- Eliminating health care tax credits for up to 13,300 small businesses and 165,000 families.
- Increasing prescription drug costs for 6,100 seniors who hit the Part D drug “donut hole” and denying new preventive care benefits to 77,000 seniors.
- Increasing the costs of early retiree coverage for up to 8,400 early retirees.
- Eliminating new health care coverage options for 2,600 uninsured young adults.
- Increasing the number of people without health insurance by 30,000 individuals.
- Increasing the costs to hospitals of providing uncompensated care by $121 million annually....
Not Mr. Popular
Ohio Republican and former Vice President at Lehman Brothers, Gov. John Kasich, hasn't been in office a full month, but he has done so much to anger and insult many Ohioans. Kasich called union workers "thugs," mentioned he wanted to "break the back of organized labor in schools," signed a proclamation declaring March 17th as Dr. Martin Luther King Day, hired all white members as department heads in his cabinet, and now removed employment protections for transgender state employees.
TheOtherPaper:
Gov. John Kasich doesn’t appear to be backing off of a strange decision to exclude transgender Ohioans from an anti-discrimination executive order issued last week.
Activists in the LGBT community were angered when Kasich temporarily allowed a 2007 executive order by former Gov. Ted Strickland to expire, despite a campaign promise to the contrary. The 2007 order declared that no state employee could be fired from or denied a state job on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Kasich’s revised order, issued last week, however, did not appease activists. He inexplicably failed to include any protections for the transgender population.....
The article goes on and lists the names of well-known Ohio companies that offer protections for transgender individuals, including ".....AEP, Battelle, Huntington, Donatos, Limited Brands, Worthington Industries and Nationwide....." and "....conservative companies like Bob Evans Farms, Inc....."
In only a few weeks, Gov. Kasich has managed to disappoint, offend, and outrage a large majority of Ohioans. According to a recent Quinnipiac Poll, Kasich has a 30% approval rating (see NewsRecord). With his proposed budget cuts, Kasich's approval rating might not see 50% for a very long time, if ever.
TheOtherPaper:
Gov. John Kasich doesn’t appear to be backing off of a strange decision to exclude transgender Ohioans from an anti-discrimination executive order issued last week.
Activists in the LGBT community were angered when Kasich temporarily allowed a 2007 executive order by former Gov. Ted Strickland to expire, despite a campaign promise to the contrary. The 2007 order declared that no state employee could be fired from or denied a state job on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Kasich’s revised order, issued last week, however, did not appease activists. He inexplicably failed to include any protections for the transgender population.....
The article goes on and lists the names of well-known Ohio companies that offer protections for transgender individuals, including ".....AEP, Battelle, Huntington, Donatos, Limited Brands, Worthington Industries and Nationwide....." and "....conservative companies like Bob Evans Farms, Inc....."
In only a few weeks, Gov. Kasich has managed to disappoint, offend, and outrage a large majority of Ohioans. According to a recent Quinnipiac Poll, Kasich has a 30% approval rating (see NewsRecord). With his proposed budget cuts, Kasich's approval rating might not see 50% for a very long time, if ever.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
JobsOhio Might Not Fly
The fallout continues over Gov. John Kasich's desire to set up a private entity with public money. Ohioans still remember the last Republican Governor's culture of corruption that cost our state millions of dollars. Are we ready for round two?
ACLU Ohio:
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio expressed disappointment today regarding the lack of transparency and accountability measures in Ohio House Bill 1, which would privatize the state’s Department of Development. Under the legislation, JobsOhio would be allowed to operate secretly, with only quarterly public meetings. The legislation also exempts the organization from parts of state public records laws. The limited records it is required to disclose would only be released annually and not subject to immediate records requests.
“Government should be run efficiently, but not at the expense of the public’s right to know,” said ACLU of Ohio Executive Director Christine Link. “The state’s work on business development is unquestionably significant, and deserves to be scrutinized by government watchdogs, the media, and others.”
In addition to transparency concerns, the bill would also provide exceptions to parts of state ethics and lobbying laws. It would also prevent the state Inspector General from investigating potential wrongdoing by members of JobsOhio....
What???? The Inspector General could not investigate corruption, law breaking, or any shenanigans by these JobsOhio members????? This is outrageous! Kasich and the Republicans should be ashamed of themselves for trying to hide their backroom deals and possible lapses of ethics. Is this what Kasich learned on Wall Street? While Kasich has plans to cut funds for education, some fat cat business leaders could possibly be steering work to their own company or a friend/relative's firm. Students would be robbed of educational materials while Kasich's good old boys benefit.
In today's Dispatch, Randy Ludlow discusses the legislation in House Bill 1, which is Kasich's plan to privatize job creation:
...The bill may seek to proclaim that JobsOhio is not a public office subject to Sunshine Laws, but that doesn’t necessarily make it so.
In its 2006 Oriana House decision, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that private entities are subject to the Public Records Act if they function as the equivalent of a public office.....
...If Kasich and Republican lawmakers ignore the court’s legal precedent, they seemingly are begging some smart lawyers with a do-good group to file a lawsuit challenging the premise that JobsOhio need not turn over records upon request.....
Which organization or private citizen will file the first lawsuit?
ACLU Ohio:
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio expressed disappointment today regarding the lack of transparency and accountability measures in Ohio House Bill 1, which would privatize the state’s Department of Development. Under the legislation, JobsOhio would be allowed to operate secretly, with only quarterly public meetings. The legislation also exempts the organization from parts of state public records laws. The limited records it is required to disclose would only be released annually and not subject to immediate records requests.
“Government should be run efficiently, but not at the expense of the public’s right to know,” said ACLU of Ohio Executive Director Christine Link. “The state’s work on business development is unquestionably significant, and deserves to be scrutinized by government watchdogs, the media, and others.”
In addition to transparency concerns, the bill would also provide exceptions to parts of state ethics and lobbying laws. It would also prevent the state Inspector General from investigating potential wrongdoing by members of JobsOhio....
What???? The Inspector General could not investigate corruption, law breaking, or any shenanigans by these JobsOhio members????? This is outrageous! Kasich and the Republicans should be ashamed of themselves for trying to hide their backroom deals and possible lapses of ethics. Is this what Kasich learned on Wall Street? While Kasich has plans to cut funds for education, some fat cat business leaders could possibly be steering work to their own company or a friend/relative's firm. Students would be robbed of educational materials while Kasich's good old boys benefit.
In today's Dispatch, Randy Ludlow discusses the legislation in House Bill 1, which is Kasich's plan to privatize job creation:
...The bill may seek to proclaim that JobsOhio is not a public office subject to Sunshine Laws, but that doesn’t necessarily make it so.
In its 2006 Oriana House decision, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that private entities are subject to the Public Records Act if they function as the equivalent of a public office.....
...If Kasich and Republican lawmakers ignore the court’s legal precedent, they seemingly are begging some smart lawyers with a do-good group to file a lawsuit challenging the premise that JobsOhio need not turn over records upon request.....
Which organization or private citizen will file the first lawsuit?
This Doesn't Pass the Smell Test
I realize that the Ohio Republicans are trying their best to repress every hardworking man and woman in the state. This latest proposal by members of the Ohio GOP just stinks.
DaytonDailyNews:
A bill to permit private employers to award compensatory time off instead of monetary overtime compensation is expected to be introduced in the Ohio House today.
The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Jarrod Martin, R-Beavercreek, would apply mainly to small “mom and pop” businesses, Martin said. Most larger employers probably would be exempt because of federal and state wage and hour laws, he said. The compensatory time would be subject to employee approval and other conditions....
Can you imagine the abuses that this would set up? A worker could be forced to work overtime, and later be denied the comp time because it isn't feasible for the owner. This might also be a ploy for a business owner to refuse to hire additional help and continue to pile work and responsibilities on current employees, and still refuse to give time off for time worked.
DaytonDailyNews:
A bill to permit private employers to award compensatory time off instead of monetary overtime compensation is expected to be introduced in the Ohio House today.
The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Jarrod Martin, R-Beavercreek, would apply mainly to small “mom and pop” businesses, Martin said. Most larger employers probably would be exempt because of federal and state wage and hour laws, he said. The compensatory time would be subject to employee approval and other conditions....
Can you imagine the abuses that this would set up? A worker could be forced to work overtime, and later be denied the comp time because it isn't feasible for the owner. This might also be a ploy for a business owner to refuse to hire additional help and continue to pile work and responsibilities on current employees, and still refuse to give time off for time worked.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
SOTU and stuff
* Did you notice that John Boehner did not clap when the President was talking about expanding opportunities for students to attend college? Boehner also did not applaud when President Obama talked about the benefits of the health care law.
Interesting tweets during the State of the Union Speech:
9newsdotcom Obama: Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love. #SOTU #9NEWS
What was Boehner trying to get out of his teeth?
Here is a tweet from right wing Republican, Rep. Paul Broun:
The interesting thing is that both as a Senator and as President, Barack Obama has supported our troops. On the other hand, Rep. Paul Broun has not. As a matter of fact, Rep. Paul BrounMD received a "D" from the IAVA on his votes supporting the troops:
JobsOhio employees can lobby JobsOhio legally while they work (and be lobbied secretly.)
Section 187.03(B)(2) of the bill explicitly states that the Governor’s ethics reporting requirements do not change, but the rest of JobsOhio’s directors, executives, and staff have different requirements. The bill specifically states that they do not need to report:
(Kasich's handpicked members) ....they only need to report income or gifts over $500 (R.C. 102.022.) But it gets better. Remember how I said that the bill would exempt JobsOhio from Ohio’s “revolving door” lobbying ethics statute? Yeah, the directors of JobsOhio and its employee aren’t subject to that statute. That not only means that they can lobby the rest of JobsOhio immediate after they leave instead of waiting for a year under Ohio’s “revolving door” statute, but they can lobby JobsOhio while they’re employed as a director or employee. (See, R.C. 102.03(A)(1) which Sec. 187.03(A)(4-5) exempts JobsOhio’s employees and directors from having to comply....
Oh, my.
Interesting tweets during the State of the Union Speech:
 | ClipsandComment Obama says become a teacher, Kasich says f*#! teachers. Twitter - 41 minutes ago |
|
9newsdotcom Obama: Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love. #SOTU #9NEWS What was Boehner trying to get out of his teeth?
Here is a tweet from right wing Republican, Rep. Paul Broun:
RepPaulBrounMD Mr. President, give them the tools they need to defend our country. Not just lip service.
The interesting thing is that both as a Senator and as President, Barack Obama has supported our troops. On the other hand, Rep. Paul Broun has not. As a matter of fact, Rep. Paul BrounMD received a "D" from the IAVA on his votes supporting the troops:
Below you will find a complete list of Representatives who earned a D or lower from IAVA Action during the 111th Congress. These legislators must improve their voting records if they are to legitimately claim that they support new veterans.
| Broun | Paul | GA |
Broun is on the list of those who have not demonstrated their support for veterans.
____________________
Rep. Paul Ryan is giving the Republican response. Although he won't mention it, Paul Ryan wants to privatize Social Security. (Why are Paul Ryan's eyes so bloodshot? Did Ryan get acting tips from the Governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal? Rep. Ryan is too animated when he is speaking. He is not reading a book to third graders!)
Rep. Paul Ryan has his statistics wrong. Health care reform will save us money and lower our debt. Rep. Paul Ryan wants to reward his friends in the individuals associated with insurance companies and insurance PACs who have contributed over $660,000 to his campaigns (see OpenSecrets). He wants to have a free market for insurance. As Rachel Maddow said, Paul Ryan can't even get support from mainstream Republicans for his radical ideas.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Plunderbund has more news about how the Kasich administration is re-opening the Ohio Republican office of the Culture of Corruption:
Section 187.03(B)(2) of the bill explicitly states that the Governor’s ethics reporting requirements do not change, but the rest of JobsOhio’s directors, executives, and staff have different requirements. The bill specifically states that they do not need to report:
(Kasich's handpicked members) ....they only need to report income or gifts over $500 (R.C. 102.022.) But it gets better. Remember how I said that the bill would exempt JobsOhio from Ohio’s “revolving door” lobbying ethics statute? Yeah, the directors of JobsOhio and its employee aren’t subject to that statute. That not only means that they can lobby the rest of JobsOhio immediate after they leave instead of waiting for a year under Ohio’s “revolving door” statute, but they can lobby JobsOhio while they’re employed as a director or employee. (See, R.C. 102.03(A)(1) which Sec. 187.03(A)(4-5) exempts JobsOhio’s employees and directors from having to comply....
Oh, my.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Kasich Called Union Workers "thugs"
Republican Gov. John Kasich has made a reputation disrespecting teachers, unionized state workers, unionized firefighters and police officers. Kasich has called them names and blamed the state's ills on union workers and binding arbitration. Teachers, state workers, firefighters, and police officers don't need this deserve this type of treatment.
How do you think that Kasich will be received when he visits Lordstown and addresses the union workers there? I hope that when he speaks that those union auto workers refuse to applaud for Kasich. If they sat there silently while Kasich talks, that would really let him know that they have just as much respect for him as he does for them.
As the Ohiodailyblog (10/26/10) reported during the campaign, Kasich called union workers "union thugs."
....Well, yesterday we learned there's another group John Kasich disdains. Union families. In a frantic, stumbling stump speech in Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, Kasich stopped talking about jobs and instead, turned his eye to what he believes is really wrong with Ohio. "Union thugs."
.....Characterizing union workers, the backbone of our manufacturing and service economies, as "thugs" is one of the most mean-spirited, divisive smears this season. It sends the message that the guy working the third shift to put three kids through college is, in fact, a criminal....
I hope the UAW gives Kasich a polite but quiet welcome.
How do you think that Kasich will be received when he visits Lordstown and addresses the union workers there? I hope that when he speaks that those union auto workers refuse to applaud for Kasich. If they sat there silently while Kasich talks, that would really let him know that they have just as much respect for him as he does for them.
As the Ohiodailyblog (10/26/10) reported during the campaign, Kasich called union workers "union thugs."
....Well, yesterday we learned there's another group John Kasich disdains. Union families. In a frantic, stumbling stump speech in Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, Kasich stopped talking about jobs and instead, turned his eye to what he believes is really wrong with Ohio. "Union thugs."
.....Characterizing union workers, the backbone of our manufacturing and service economies, as "thugs" is one of the most mean-spirited, divisive smears this season. It sends the message that the guy working the third shift to put three kids through college is, in fact, a criminal....
I hope the UAW gives Kasich a polite but quiet welcome.
Republican Cuts to Education
College students who voted for Republican candidates in the last election will be upset with the latest Republican budget proposals. Some of the Republican cuts would hit college students and their parents right where it hurts.
Bloomberg:
U.S. House Republicans’ pledge to cut $100 billion from the federal budget next year would slash spending for education, cancer research and aid to local police and firefighters.....
....President Barack Obama has requested $73.4 billion for the Department of EducationPell Grants to help low-income students afford college, a 32 percent increase from this year.... next year. That request includes $23 billion for
....A 21 percent cut across the board would take about $15 billion from education. A 21 percent cut in Pell Grants would take almost $5 billion from student tuition.....
The article also notes that other cuts to education would target special education, and federal money to schools.
The Republicans tried these type of drastic cuts before when they had theirContract on America Contract with America. Don't think for a minute that the Republicans have come up with any new ideas. They just recycle the old ones hoping that something, anything, will work this time.
If you are a college student, particularly those in Ohio (Ohio State, Ohio University, Bowling Green, Kent, UC, UD, Toledo, etc.), I'd suggest you run/call/contact through Facebook, your local College Democrats on campus. Find out how you can get involved to try to stop these cuts that will hurt your ability to finish your college education. You might also want to make your parents aware of the Republican planned cuts to education.
(Note to Ohioans: In the state of Ohio, it should be noted that former Gov. Ted Strickland was able to hold down tuition increases. Experts believe that Gov. Kasich will force state universities to raise tuition because of his planned cuts to state funding for education.)
Republican Rep. Paul Ryan and his plan to cut spending has repeatedly gone after Social Security. Ryan continues to push cutting benefits for Social Security, continue to raise the retirement age, and privatizing Social Security (see Washington Post, Common Dreams, Huffington Post). Thank goodness the previous Republican plan to privatize Social Security was unsuccessful because everyone would have lost their retirement funds when Wall Street collapsed during the Bush administration.
Bloomberg:
U.S. House Republicans’ pledge to cut $100 billion from the federal budget next year would slash spending for education, cancer research and aid to local police and firefighters.....
....President Barack Obama has requested $73.4 billion for the Department of EducationPell Grants to help low-income students afford college, a 32 percent increase from this year.... next year. That request includes $23 billion for
....A 21 percent cut across the board would take about $15 billion from education. A 21 percent cut in Pell Grants would take almost $5 billion from student tuition.....
The article also notes that other cuts to education would target special education, and federal money to schools.
The Republicans tried these type of drastic cuts before when they had their
If you are a college student, particularly those in Ohio (Ohio State, Ohio University, Bowling Green, Kent, UC, UD, Toledo, etc.), I'd suggest you run/call/contact through Facebook, your local College Democrats on campus. Find out how you can get involved to try to stop these cuts that will hurt your ability to finish your college education. You might also want to make your parents aware of the Republican planned cuts to education.
(Note to Ohioans: In the state of Ohio, it should be noted that former Gov. Ted Strickland was able to hold down tuition increases. Experts believe that Gov. Kasich will force state universities to raise tuition because of his planned cuts to state funding for education.)
Republican Rep. Paul Ryan and his plan to cut spending has repeatedly gone after Social Security. Ryan continues to push cutting benefits for Social Security, continue to raise the retirement age, and privatizing Social Security (see Washington Post, Common Dreams, Huffington Post). Thank goodness the previous Republican plan to privatize Social Security was unsuccessful because everyone would have lost their retirement funds when Wall Street collapsed during the Bush administration.
Friday, January 21, 2011
You Can't Make Up This Stuff.....
This just in............
Ohio Gov. John Kasich has just hired another white male - Jim Trakas.
Who is Jim Trakas? Here are a few pieces of information about him.
Cleveland.com:
....Trakas has less agency experience than his predecessor, Kevin Miller, whom Kasich just tapped to be director of the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission. Miller was chief of staff at the Ohio Department of Youth Services before he was appointed as the cosmetology board's executive director in 2005. He earned $91,000 a year at the board.
Trakas' last two non-political jobs listed on his resume: commercial sales representative for Nature Stone Floors of Bedford and public policy coordinator at Lorain County Community College, which he left so he could run for Congress in 2008.
Kasich has said he will not base hiring on politics, but rather on qualifications....
Sure.....
Jim Trakas ran against Rep. Dennis Kucinich. Jim Trakas is the jerk that famously said at a McCain-Palin rally that (see Bloggerinterrupted)....Barack Obama supporters are "sinners"....
Of course, we can't forget that when Jim Trakas was a GOP chairman, he initially wanted to challenge voters who were disabled during the 2004 presidential election (see Washington Post).
Ohio Gov. John Kasich has just hired another white male - Jim Trakas.
Who is Jim Trakas? Here are a few pieces of information about him.
Cleveland.com:
....Trakas has less agency experience than his predecessor, Kevin Miller, whom Kasich just tapped to be director of the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission. Miller was chief of staff at the Ohio Department of Youth Services before he was appointed as the cosmetology board's executive director in 2005. He earned $91,000 a year at the board.
Trakas' last two non-political jobs listed on his resume: commercial sales representative for Nature Stone Floors of Bedford and public policy coordinator at Lorain County Community College, which he left so he could run for Congress in 2008.
Kasich has said he will not base hiring on politics, but rather on qualifications....
Sure.....
Jim Trakas ran against Rep. Dennis Kucinich. Jim Trakas is the jerk that famously said at a McCain-Palin rally that (see Bloggerinterrupted)....Barack Obama supporters are "sinners"....
Of course, we can't forget that when Jim Trakas was a GOP chairman, he initially wanted to challenge voters who were disabled during the 2004 presidential election (see Washington Post).
Kasich's Privatizing Jobs a "Boondoggle"
In this morning's Dispatch, Brian Rothenberg, the executive director of ProgressOhio, called Gov. Kasich's plan to privatize job development a "boondoggle":
...Brian Rothenberg, executive director of ProgressOhio, a Columbus-based liberal advocacy group, also questioned whether Kasich's JobsOhio plan would incorporate assurances that businesses receiving taxpayer-funded incentives actually create the jobs they promise....
...Rothenberg said: "Until Ohio stops viewing job-creation dollars as corporate welfare and demands accountability in jobs created for dollars spent to create jobs, this is just a boondoggle with another name."
I agree. Besides, why are Kasich and the Republicans in such a hurry to privatize the Department of Development without much input from the public? Are they rushing this legislation and new private entity so that we don't have a chance to see the plans, and research how other states have done similar moves? What about the proposal that those on Kasich super, special development board will only be paid for expenses? Shouldn't there be a limit or a per diem as to a limit they can charge the state for reimbursement? Will they be able to charge champagne, expensive dinners, and fancy hotel stays to the state? Somehow this entire idea needs to be on firmer footing with specific guidelines.
I almost hesitate to read the news in the morning because I worry that Kasich has come up with another ridiculous idea that we will have to pay for out of our tax dollars!
***** Did you know that Gov. Kasich not only is paying his staffer higher salaries than former Gov. Ted Strickland, but most of his cabinet is also being paid more?
Columbus Dispatch:
...Brian Rothenberg, executive director of ProgressOhio, a Columbus-based liberal advocacy group, also questioned whether Kasich's JobsOhio plan would incorporate assurances that businesses receiving taxpayer-funded incentives actually create the jobs they promise....
...Rothenberg said: "Until Ohio stops viewing job-creation dollars as corporate welfare and demands accountability in jobs created for dollars spent to create jobs, this is just a boondoggle with another name."
I agree. Besides, why are Kasich and the Republicans in such a hurry to privatize the Department of Development without much input from the public? Are they rushing this legislation and new private entity so that we don't have a chance to see the plans, and research how other states have done similar moves? What about the proposal that those on Kasich super, special development board will only be paid for expenses? Shouldn't there be a limit or a per diem as to a limit they can charge the state for reimbursement? Will they be able to charge champagne, expensive dinners, and fancy hotel stays to the state? Somehow this entire idea needs to be on firmer footing with specific guidelines.
I almost hesitate to read the news in the morning because I worry that Kasich has come up with another ridiculous idea that we will have to pay for out of our tax dollars!
***** Did you know that Gov. Kasich not only is paying his staffer higher salaries than former Gov. Ted Strickland, but most of his cabinet is also being paid more?
Columbus Dispatch:
________
*** How many jobs have the Republicans, John Boehner, and Steve Stivers created? I've looked over the recent legislation list and there are no job bills? Where are the jobs???
____
*** Rep. Jay Hottinger, another Republican, is in the news for two stories today:
Politifact rates a recent statement by Hottinger as FALSE:
"Ben Franklin once quipped that only two things in life were certain: death and taxes," said Rep. Jay Hottinger, a Republican from Newark. "I think even he didn't envision that the tax man would visit on the day of your death -- and that's something that needs to end here in the state of Ohio."
...We sought further guidance from Franklin authority Dr. Michael Zuckerman, professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania, which Franklin founded. There is "nothing whatever in that quote pertinent to estate taxes," he responded.
But Franklin, he told us, did not view taxes negatively. Rather, Zuckerman said, he was "mistrustful of great wealth, and quite supportive of inheritance taxes."
But Franklin, he told us, did not view taxes negatively. Rather, Zuckerman said, he was "mistrustful of great wealth, and quite supportive of inheritance taxes."
Why do Republicans think they can just make up their own facts?
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>>> The second article in the Dispatch, recounts the sophomoric behavior of some Ohio Republicans. While at a "retreat" at the Cherry Valley Lodge, some Ohio Senate Republicans "toilet-papered" the home and property of State Rep. Jay Hottinger.
I sincerely hope that our tax dollars did not pay for the "retreat" or the toilet paper. I guess this is what you get from a bunch of overzealous, arrogant, bragadocious, unfeeling Republicans. Instead of meeting and discussing the plight of children, the poor, disabled, and elderly in Ohio, these adolescents are wasting time instead of solving problems. I guess they might not need to do any thinking on their own since apparently they just follow orders from Gov. Kasich and his highly paid staff and cabinet.
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