Betsy DeVos

As a former teacher, I am appalled that any U.S. Senator would vote for an unqualified person, like Betsy DeVos, to lead the U.S. Department of Education. She knows nothing about education, testing, child development, child psychology, etc. Her answers during the hearing displayed her lack of knowledge on many issues. Just as you wouldn't want someone without a specialized education and training to do your brain surgery, you do not want someone like Betsy DeVos to set policy for education, schools, and instructional materials.

Betsy DeVos is inexperienced in education.  Her qualifications appear to be that she gave massive amounts of campaign contributions to Trump and Republicans. Stand with me and oppose her nomination.

Included below are some links to articles about Betsy DeVos:

WashingtonPost

Cosmopolitan

LATimes

Hillary Clinton at Ohio State

*  According to the Columbus Dispatch, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will appear at the Ohio State University on Monday, October 10th, 2016. For information as to where and when, please click here.

*  With the recent discovery of Donald Trump's vile comments about women, many people, especially those of the religious right, are re-thinking their support for the Republican candidate. Although some average citizens have voiced outrage, some Republican candidates continue to support him.  The Republican presidential candidate has spewed racist, bigoted, sexist comments, but Republicans call themselves 'family values' champions. Disgusting.

The Damage Done to Ohio

If you live in Ohio, you already know what Gov. John Kasich has done to the state:

- funds cut to public schools
- additional money given to failing charter schools that continue to have failing grades, and low graduation rates.
- counties, cities, and small towns losing vital state funding
- cuts to health facilities pushing physically and mentally fragile individuals away from
   families and into large holding providers.
- new jobs are only low paying in companies that offer few benefits or only seasonal positions. Example: Walmart is Ohio's largest employer.
- with Kasich out of the state for months, job losses have increased rapidly:
https://jfs.ohio.gov/warn/current.stm 
- teachers in Ohio have been disrespected by his administration with demands that teachers do more    with less assistance from the state.
- infrastructure in the state has gone into horrible disrepair with massive holes and crumbling bridges are in every county.
- attacks on the rights of voters have increased with 2 million voters removed from registration rolls.
- women have had their reproductive rights and health access denied because of the right-leaning, anti-female, anti-equality Republicans in the General Assembly that jump at the chance to support every goofy idea put forth by the governor.
- massive amounts of money have been given to JobsOhio with little oversight on how the money is being spent to bring jobs to the state.
- with less money going to communities, police and fire staffs have been cut dramatically with some areas facing massive risks.

There are plenty more areas that have been hurt by the Kasich administration and the enabling Republicans. I will continue to bring them to your attention.

Follow me on Twitter at @Ohiomom6.

Hashtags

Channel 10 in Columbus, Ohio, wants to hear from viewers about matters that are important in this year's general election. They've asked people to tweet concerns using the hashtag #HeartlandProject. Please let the Republican, far right, owners of WBNS hear what you want brought up in this election year.  Need suggestions?  Examples: equal pay for women, women's reproductive rights, failing charter schools, voting rights, fair pay, raising the minimum wage, funding public schools, justice, truth, the Walmarting of Ohio, etc., etc.

Go to it!!!!

GOP Debates

I have found that I don't want to waste time watching the Republican candidate debates. The Republicans attack our President, push for more wars, and propose more tax cuts for the rich. It is
the same old record. There is nothing new that they have to say.  Besides, I won't be voting for any of the GOP clowns anyway.

---  If you have been following the recent escapades of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, then you know that he is against safe healthcare for women. Mike DeWine worked, on our dime, to stop marriage equality, and now he is trying to smear Planned Parenthood. DeWine just hates the fact that women have access to safe healthcare and abortions. Why does Mike DeWine want to deprive women of treatment for yeast infections? Ask him! According to Plunderbund, Mike DeWine is
thinking of running for Ohio Governor! Yuck!

--- U.S. Sen. Rob Portman is against equal pay for women!!!!! Wow! That is disgusting! I'd never vote for a candidate that is against equal pay and equal rights.

Time to get to work!

You might be shocked to learn that the health care bill that assists the first responders from 9/11 needs renewal. Some politicians are good at using words to praise the rescuers from 9/11, but that is all they've done. More than words are needed.

CrooksandLiars:

Jon Stewart returned to The Daily Show this Monday evening to continue his fight to get Congress to do the right thing for our 9-11 first responders: Jon Stewart's Back On 'The Daily Show' Tonight, And He Is Not Happy:
    
    Jon Stewart isn't letting up in his effort to convince lawmakers to pass a new 9/11 bill after his   visit to Congress last week -- the former host of "The Daily Show" returns to the broadcast Monday night to put an exclamation point on his trip to D.C. 

    Stewart and a group of 9/11 responders on Thursday toured the halls of the Capitol and visited the offices of senators in hopes of spurring them to pass a permanent extension of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which began expiring in September.....

Republicans Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell need to get this legislation passed NOW!

Attention, Ohio voters!  Sen. Rob Portman had avoided signing to support the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act----- until Jon Stewart cornered him (see HuffingtonPost).

Do Something!

Please visit my posting at stubbornliberal.blogspot.com today.

Voting

If you are concerned about which candidates to vote for in the election, here is a list put out by the Franklin County Democratic Party:

2015 Election Official Sample Ballot

Candidates Endorsed by the Franklin County Democratic Party

County Wide Candidates

Ted Barrows-Municipal Court Judge
Mark Hummer- Municipal Court Judge
Eileen Paley- for Municipal Court Judge
Cynthia Ebner- for Municipal Court Judge
Cindi Morehart- for Municipal Court Judge

Municipal and Township Candidates

Andrew J. Ginther- for Mayor of Columbus

Zach Klein- Columbus City Council
Elizabeth C. Brown-for Columbus City Council
Jaiza Page-Columbus City Council
Michael Stinziano-for Columbus City Council
Shannon G. Hardin- Columbus City Council

Gary Baker- Columbus City School Board
W. Shawna Gibbs- Columbus School Board
Mary Jo Hudson- Columbus City School Board
Eric S. Brown- Columbus City School Board

Kim Maggard- Whitehall Mayor
Michael Bivens- for Whitehall City Attorney
Steven Quincel- for Whitehall Treasurer
Karen Conison- Whitehall City Council

Cornelius McGrady-for Reynoldsburg Mayor
Krisitin Bryant- for Reynoldsburg City Attorney
Preston Stearns- for Reynoldsburg City Council President
Michael Krakomberger- for Reynoldsburg City Council
Mark McKenzie- for Reynoldsburg City Council
Sean McMullen-for Reynoldsburg City Council
Tyrone Martin- for Reynoldsburg City Council
Debbie Dunlap- for Reynoldsburg School Board

Mike Schadek-Upper Arlington City Council
Carolyn Casper- for Upper Arlington City Council
Bob Foulk- for Upper Arlington City Council

Steven Gladman-Grandview City Council

Sharon Whitten- for Madison Township Trustee
Mary Tedrow- Groveport Madison School Board

Deb Steele- Clinton Township Fiscal Officer

David Donofrio- for Prairie Township Trustee

Beryl Piccolantonio- for Gahanna Jefferson School Board

Carmen Malone- for Hilliard School Board

Richard Bird- for Westerville School Board

WRITE IN David Melvin- for Sharon Township

Randy Reisling- South-Western City School Board

Statewide and County Issues

Issue 1: Redistricting Plan- YES
Issue 14: ADAMH Renewal- YES
Issue 15: Zoo Renewal- YES


Make certain that you vote!!!!

------------------------

Ohio voters will also be deciding about the marijuana issue. People suggest voting 

NO on 2, and YES on 3.

>>>>>  One woman stopped a protest at a Planned Parenthood center:

HuffPost:

Mary Numair took down Planned Parenthood protesters in quite an unusual, but awesome way.

According to BuzzFeed News, the 29-year-old Oregon copywriter and Planned Parenthood supporter noticed protesters outside a local clinic in Portland. After trying to approach them multiple times, she opted for a more creative route.

On Oct. 25, Numair arrived at the protest with a sign that read, "Dear P.P., Thanks for helping me with my yeast infections." In a tweet, she said she broke up the protest by chanting the words "yeast infections."

Wow! I bet there will be similar 'yeast infection' demonstrations across the country!

Falsehoods from GOP

Are you tired of the right wingers and their false claims? I am.While Republicans get their panties in knots over Hillary Clinton's emails, we should examine what the Bush family and their minions did.

*  Jeb! seems unable to fathom that his brother, former President George W. Bush, had multiple  warnings that Bin Laden was 'determined to attack' the United States. (See NYTimes, CNN, Slate, FindLaw, etc.) But they were ignored.

*  Jeb! and the Republicans are concerned about Hillary Clinton's emails but they ignore the private email server Karl Rove had and the emails erased. Jeb! seems to forget that he erased his own emails  (Politifact).

*  Carly Fiorina was not a job creator but a job destroyer. She cut 30,000 jobs at HP, spent too much money on corporate jets, and  delayed paying  employees from her last campaign,
 

I'll write more on the other Republican clowns a little later......

Are you ready for this?

You were wondering how a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate could hurt.

CNN:

Mitch McConnell privately wants the White House to pay this price to enact a major budget deal: Significant changes to Social Security and Medicare in exchange for raising the debt ceiling and funding the government.

Several people familiar with the high-stakes fiscal negotiations said the Senate majority leader's staff is trying to drive a hard bargain in the private talks with the White House and Democratic leaders.

McConnell is seeking a reduction in cost-of-living adjustments to Social Security recipients and new restrictions on Medicare, including limiting benefits to the rich and raising the eligibility age, several sources said. In addition, the Kentucky Republican is eager to see new policy riders enacted, including reining in the Environmental Protection Agency's clean water regulations....

The Republicans continue their assault on working people. The Republicans never will stop - unless of course they are out of office.

Kasich Losing Ohio?

According to the Columbus Dispatch, Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich is losing support from Ohioans. Will Kasich lose the Ohio Republican primary?

News Around Ohio

>  While a majority of people are against a government shutdown over Planned Parenthood, the right wing Republicans still continue their demands.

TheHill:

Nearly 70 percent of voters say they would oppose a government shutdown in an effort to defund Planned Parenthood, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

While support for Planned Parenthood is split among party lines, fewer than one-quarter of all voters say they would support a shutdown if it meant defunding the group, according to the poll released Monday...

...But the odds of a shutdown shrunk dramatically on Friday when House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced that he would be resigning within one month....

While Planned Parenthood and technical experts have stated that the videos of abortions have been "fixed' to create lies, right wingers still continue on their crusade. I wish the Republicans would create a few hundred thousand/million jobs instead of being concerned about a woman's uterus.

>  Ohio Auditor Yost investigated Planned Parenthood in the state and, according to Cleveland.com,  found nothing wrong going on in Ohio: 

'....The findings of his office's work, he noted, are based on data -- not a political ideology or debate over policy.
In this case, Yost considers his questions on Planned Parenthood answered and the issue closed.'

Unfortunately, Ohio's Republicans are not concerned with facts.

>  There continues to be more fallout from John Kasich's Latino outreach.

TheHill:

...Kasich's remarks suggest that his only interaction with Latinos is with the people who clean his bathroom. At a time when a Latina sits on the Supreme Court, and Latinos are CEOs and Pulitzer Prize winners, Kasich seems dangerously out of touch with an increasingly diverse America....

Yep. That is Ohio's Kasich! He is unable to fathom the idea that the country is made up of many nationalities, races, and religions. He is still ignorant about equal pay and women in the workplace.

Kasich is the perfect Republican if you want to turn back the clock on human rights. John Kasich IS NOT a moderate.

 

The End of Privacy?

Imagine that every single time that you go to the OB/GYN doctor that a Republican politician is in the examining room with you. That is disgusting to even imagine it! Gov. John Kasich and the Ohio Republicans have inserted themselves into that exam room. Your privacy is gone! Your right to a decision is gone! Your health needs don't matter because Kasich and his buddies are deciding what happens inside your uterus.

WKRC-TV is reporting that Kasich will sign the bill that bans abortion if the reason is a Down Syndrome diagnosis for the fetus.

Here is more about the abortion legislation- Cleveland.com:

...This bill would ban doctors from assisting women in exercising fundamental rights over their bodies, all without any assurance women and families will receive needed support once the baby is born.

Republican lawmakers refused changes helping families transition to the lifestyle of raising a child with Down syndrome. One amendment called for 12 weeks of parental leave after the birth of a child. Not only would this allow for parents of babies with Down syndrome time to adjust, but it would allow all new parents to bond with their babies in those precious first moments.   

Republican lawmakers also rejected amendments for education funding and Medicaid eligibility for women and babies confronting Down syndrome. If HB 135's intent is to help and strengthen families, why reject these common-sense amendments?....

These Republicans and Kasich just want to punish women and deny them any rights.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" that he would sign a bill currently being debated in his state banning abortion if the reason for the procedure is because the child would have Down syndrome. "I would sign it, yes," Kasich said. "Look, I'm a governor. I'm a CEO. I have to have a hand steady on the wheel. But in this case, I'm more than glad to say that of course I would sign that." Kasich, who opposes abortion except in cases of rape, incest or to preserve the life of the mother, previously had not commented on the bill, saying he didn't want to express his opinion while it was being debated in Ohio's statehouse.

Read More at: http://local12.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/-Kasich-says-he-would-sign-bill-banning-abortion-in-cases-of-Down-syndrome-207930.shtml

Ohio Gov. John Kasich told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" that he would sign a bill currently being debated in his state banning abortion if the reason for the procedure is because the child would have Down syndrome. "I would sign it, yes," Kasich said. "Look, I'm a governor. I'm a CEO. I have to have a hand steady on the wheel. But in this case, I'm more than glad to say that of course I would sign that." Kasich, who opposes abortion except in cases of rape, incest or to preserve the life of the mother, previously had not commented on the bill, saying he didn't want to express his opinion while it was being debated in Ohio's statehouse.

Read More at: http://local12.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/-Kasich-says-he-would-sign-bill-banning-abortion-in-cases-of-Down-syndrome-207930.shtml

Ohio Gov. John Kasich told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union" that he would sign a bill currently being debated in his state banning abortion if the reason for the procedure is because the child would have Down syndrome. "I would sign it, yes," Kasich said. "Look, I'm a governor. I'm a CEO. I have to have a hand steady on the wheel. But in this case, I'm more than glad to say that of course I would sign that." Kasich, who opposes abortion except in cases of rape, incest or to preserve the life of the mother, previously had not commented on the bill, saying he didn't want to express his opinion while it was being debated in Ohio's statehouse.

Read More at: http://local12.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/-Kasich-says-he-would-sign-bill-banning-abortion-in-cases-of-Down-syndrome-207930.shtml

'16 restrictions'

*  Ohio Republicans have their panties in knots because President Obama announced the name change of a mountain. Formerly known as Mt. McKinley, the name change to Denali reflects the wants and needs of the people in Alaska. (see Heavy for details) 

* Ohio Gov. John Kasich has been seen in every early primary state as he campaigns for President. He has yet to weight in on the latest abortion bill promoted by the crazy right wing Ohio Republicans.

Mother Jones:

Ohio, a state often considered ground zero for anti-abortion legislation, finds itself at the center of the latest reproductive rights controversy—one that could force its governor, Republican presidential candidate John Kasich, to take an uncomfortably public stance.

A bill approved in June by a health committee in the Ohio House of Representatives, on a bipartisan 9-3 vote, would ban physicians from performing abortions on women who want to terminate their pregnancy because of a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome. The legislation shifts the reproductive rights conversation from its typical preoccupation with time frame and viability to the more nebulous question of a woman's motivation for ending a pregnancy....

...Since entering office in 2011 Kasich has signed every anti-abortion measure that has landed on his desk, enacting a total of 16 restrictions that limit abortion access and family planning opportunities, and resulting in the closure of half the state's abortion clinics. There is little reason to think this bill will be different....

Kasich is not an advocate for women's reproductive rights and has been an opponent of equal pay (even in his own administration).  Kasich is no friend to women.

More on Kasich.....

There is an interesting article about John Kasich's term at Lehman Brothers.

IBT:

Republican presidential rivals Jeb Bush and John Kasich bring to their campaigns their experience as governors of major battleground states, but they also share a resume line from their time in the private sector. The Florida and Ohio pols both worked at the ill-fated Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers just as the firm was racking up vast losses for their states' respective pension systems.


While Kasich has denounced Wall Street greed and Bush has criticized lawmakers who become lobbyists, during their time at Lehman they leveraged their public sector experience -- Bush as a former governor and Kasich as a former nine-term congressman -- to help the bank build relationships and navigate public policy matters....


....Kasich was hired to help run Lehman’s investment banking operation in January 2001 despite, by his own admission, having “close to zero” knowledge of the business. He was, however, a longtime ally of the financial industry during his 18 years in Congress. He voted for legislation to eliminate regulations on banks like Lehman. The month before he got the job at Lehman, Kasich sponsored a bill to allow Social Security money to be invested in financial firms -- including inevitably Lehman -- that stood to make hundreds of billions in profits had it passed.....

You might want to read the entire article here. How did Kasich do at Lehman?  John Kasich admits he had a 'fantastic time' at Lehman. (People that lost their funds did not have a fantastic time.)


•••• What is new in Ohio? Not much! It is the same old Republican attacks on women's health.

American Prospect:

If you're looking for true Republican policy innovations, don't bother with tax policy or national security; the place where the GOP is really exercising its creativity is in coming up with new ways to restrict abortion rights. In the latest inspired move, Republican state legislators in Ohio have introduced a bill to make it illegal for a woman to terminate her pregnancy because she has discovered that the baby would have Down syndrome. The bill is expected to pass, and though he hasn't yet taken a position on it, it would be a shock if Governor John Kasich—who is both an opponent of abortion rights and currently in search of votes in the Republican presidential primary—didn't sign it.
 

After it passes in Ohio (and even if by some strange turn of events it doesn't), look for identical bills to come up in state after Republican-controlled state. Anyone who objects will of course be accused of wanting to kill children with disabilities....

....Perhaps to expedite things, every women's health clinic could come equipped with a special hotline to the state legislature, where any woman who wants to end her pregnancy would have to justify it to a Republican state representative, who would have the final say. Maybe that will be the next bright policy idea from the party that says it's committed to getting government off your back.

Republicans are for less regulations----unless you have a uterus.

Teachers

The governor of the state of Ohio, John Kasich, just plain hates teachers. The teaching profession is made up mostly of women. I've often felt that his dislike of teachers has to do with the fact that he doesn't like smart, outspoken women. Now he has gone too far.




Obviously, Kasich has never been in a teachers lounge (AKA lunchroom or closet).  It is the place where the discarded chairs and tables are placed. There is nothing fancy. He must have teachers' lunchrooms confused with what was spent on his JobsOhio's coffee bar: http://innovationohio.org/2013/03/18/jobsohio-blows-1-million-on-office-expenses/

Shame on Kasich. He has never and will never get my vote.

In my opinion...

•  Local Columbus television station, WBNS 10TV, seems to be going out of the way to support Ohio Gov. John Kasich's presidential campaign. Nearly every broadcast has some story about his campaign. I've always been a viewer of the station's news but I'm starting to watch other newscasts. I'm not a fan of Kasich's and refuse to listen to 10TV's propaganda.

If you are also sick of the pro-Kasich broadcasts, contact 10TV here.

_____

•  Some right wingers might be wetting their pants with this news from Forbes:

For the first time in more than 50 years of surveys, the CDC on Wednesday reported that more than 90% of Americans — 90.8% of us, to be specific — have health insurance.....

....Being insured even appears to cut down on your risk of death.....

Thank you, President Obama, for protecting the lives of Americans!

_____

•  Ohio's charter schools needs a massive examination by federal authorities.  Do you think there is something fishy about how Republican lawmakers have refused to investigate and reform the charter school business in Ohio?

Plunderbund: 

....We already knew that while its citizens waited, the Ohio legislature left town as one festering charter school scandal after another went unaddressed.  In particular, a long-awaited piece of “reform” legislation, HB 2, proposed to address “governance, sponsorship, and management of community schools,” languishes in the wind tunnel located at Broad and High.... 

....The proposed reform legislation would, according to the Enquirer, “prevent failing charter schools from swapping sponsors to avoid closure, require that attendance and financial records be available for inspection, force online schools to track how many hours a student is learning and eliminate conflicts of interest between those who run the schools and the groups policing them.”

The Enquirer article also points out that perhaps $91,726 in timely donations in June and July by charter school leader William Lager might have distracted Republican lawmakers from doing the right thing. After all, isn’t the devil – or is it the dollar – in the details when the subject is Ohio charter schools?....

How does the owner of ECOT charter school live? Plunderbund did another investigation in 2014 which demonstrates how some are profiting off the schools. You can read the Plunderbund post here.

It is time for citizens to demand an outside inquiry into the Ohio charter school money machine!
 

Rigged?

If you missed Rachel Maddow's program last night, here is a sample:

TPM:

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow on Tuesday night tore into Fox News for the polls they used to decide which ten Republican presidential candidates will compete in the first debate on Thursday night.....

...Yet Maddow pointed out that Fox did not use the fifth most recent national poll -- an NBC/WSJ poll conducted through July 30. The channel instead used a Quinnipiac University poll conducted through July 28.

Though using either the NBC/WSJ poll or the Quinnipiac poll would have scored Kasich a place at the top-tier debate, the Quinnipiac poll, which had Kasich leading Perry by 3 points, gave the Ohio governor a more definitive lead.....

Yes. Fox News appears to have chosen polls that would boost their buddy, former Fox News star, John Kasich! Kasich's friendship with the head of the network proved more important than statistics.

Kasich Exposed!

Newsweek has a very interesting article about John Kasich that might open the eyes of people that don't know him. Those of us that are residents of Ohio are familiar with his pompous attitude.  We know that he has little regard for teachers, police officers, firefighters, school children, and the poor. Sure, he talks about helping the poor, but his actions reveal more.

> Kasich cut poor people off of food programs --- Think Progress has the story.

> Most of the teachers in our state are females. Kasich said wanted 'to break the back of teachers unions.' (See Plunderbund.) Does that mean he wants teachers to lose their rights to have a safe work place?

> After he received a ticket, Kasich called the ticket-issuing police officer 'an idiot' in front of state workers. https://youtu.be/KF0_Qe4zNrE

> Kasich stated that first responders that strike for job safety should be fired. (SpringfieldNewsSun)

> Schools have had to cut programs because Kasich has slashed funding to traditional public schools. Instead, he has increased money to charter schools, which perform poorly, but whose owners are big $$$$$ GOP supporters.

> Kasich and his Republican sheep in the Ohio General Assembly have restricted women's rights to gynecological services.

We know Kasich and his 'job miracle' is a figment of his imagination.

'I don't know'

If you want another war, you should support a Republican candidate for President. It appears that every Republican candidate is willing to send your sons and daughters to war.

Here is an example of what GOP candidate John Kasich said------
HuffingtonPost:

...Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican presidential candidate, suggested that he wouldn't immediately revoke President Barack Obama's nuclear deal with Iran if he were to be elected president.

But he would send U.S. ground troops to the Middle East to fight the Islamic State, the radical group known as ISIS or ISIL that has taken control of a huge swath of Syria and Iraq....

....the Ohio governor said he would send U.S. troops to fight a ground war against the Islamic State...

Our sons, daughters, relatives, and friends that fought in Bush's wars cannot even get proper medical care for their PTSD, wounds, and trauma, because the Republicans have cut budget funds for veteran medical care. However, the Republicans are ready to send them and others to more wars. Haven't we had enough? Shouldn't we be working for peace instead of war?

* Kasich has been making some town hall attendees a little uncomfortable for his lack of specific responses. Kasich repeatedly responded, "I don't know," to questions on policy. Cincinnati.com has more.

I'd suggest that people demand answers and not allow these 'don't know' responses from Kasich or any candidate.