Strange

* Things are getting strange in the administration of Gov. John Kasich, Republican of Ohio.
Dispatch:

The Department of Education has hired the husband of Gov. John Kasich’s chief of staff to a new position that will oversee the expansion of school choice in Ohio.

David J. Hansen, former president of the conservative Buckeye Policy Institute and husband to Kasich’s chief of staff Beth Hansen, is the state’s first executive director for the office of quality school choice and funding. The position comes with an annual salary of $105,000.

Mrs. Hansen, who ran Kasich’s successful 2010 campaign for governor, is the governor’s highest-paid employee at about $170,000 per year.

Rob Nichols, a spokesman for Kasich, said the governor’s office played no role in Mr. Hansen’s hiring......

ROFLOL!!!!
 If you believe that, I might be able to interest you in some swampland........
This story follows the investigation of another Kasich appointee being investigated for nepotism as posted in Plunderbund (August 21, 2013). Ohioans had better wake and and see how Kasich is running the state.

* Did you catch what Pat Robertson said?
TPM:

Televangelist Pat Robertson claimed on his show, the "700 Club," on Tuesday that gay people in San Francisco have deliberately spread AIDS using rings designed to cut people, according to a video published by Right Wing Watch.

"You know what they do in San Francisco? Some of the gay community there, they want to get people. So, if they've got the stuff, they'll have a ring. You shake hands and the ring's got a little thing where you cut your finger," Robertson said in the video. "Really. I mean it's that kind of vicious stuff, which would be the equivalent of murder."

Right Wing Watch said the clip was edited out of the version of the show that was placed on the "700 Club" website and that the comments were made when Robertson was responding to a question from a viewer who was worried about driving with a man who had AIDS.....

Pat Robertson needs to retire. People don't need to hear these lies.

Please Note----

* I extend my sympathies to the family of former Ohio Gov. John Gilligan. Gilligan, a Democrat, served as Ohio Governor from 1971-75.

*  Isn't it odd how some candidates just don't understand ethics and federal campaign finance laws? Yes, I'm speaking about Ohio Treasurer and failed Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, Josh Mandel.

Dispatch:
A March car crash involving Republican state Treasurer Josh Mandel could lead to revelations that he has violated federal campaign law.
The Associated Press first reported today that Mandel has been the passenger in two auto accidents since taking office as treasurer in 2011, including one earlier this year near Toledo that occurred while he was riding in a vehicle paid for by his failed U.S. Senate campaign......

....Under federal campaign finance law, Mandel could not use equipment purchased by his Senate campaign for personal use or for his role as treasurer without payment......

Some people never learn.

*** Here is a very interesting discussion from WOSU about Gov. John Kasich's super secret JobsOhio:



> As a person that earned two degrees at Ohio State, I think I have the right to complain about this next idea hatched by someone at the Ohio State University Hospital.

Dispatch:

Ohio State University plans to name the new emergency department at its medical center after the Abercrombie & Fitch clothing company, a year after another Columbus hospital named its emergency center after the brand.

The Ohio State Board of Trustees is to vote Friday on a proposal to create the Abercrombie & Fitch Emergency Department, which will be twice the size of the department now housed at OSU’s Wexner Medical Center when it opens in 2014.

The name is a nod to the more than $10 million the New Albany-based company has given the medical center in recent years, said Bob Mackle, a medical center spokesman, and for helping to create the Abercrombie & Fitch Chair in Inflammatory Bowel Disease faculty position....

This is a very stupid idea. What is wrong with just having a nice plaque or sign to commemorate the contribution?

Mike DeWine didn't tell you....

Lots of things seem to be happening in Ohio because of a lack of transparency.  Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine had a secret, but didn't want Ohioans to know.  Unfortunately, Mike DeWine didn't think it was important enough to tell you.

RawStory:

At a press conference today, Attorney General Mike DeWine informed Ohio citizens that a powerful facial recognition system with access to driver’s licenses photographs and mug shots went live on June 2. 

In exactly what capacity it went live, however, isn’t entirely clear. Law enforcement officers and officials in DeWine’s office disagree about whether system was in beta testing or fully launched. What is known is that since June 2, police officers have performed 2,600 searches using the new database feature, which scans driver’s license photographs and police mug shots and compares them to any image, be it a photograph or a still-frame from a surveillance camera. 

The system is designed to take advantage of the increasing prevalence of security cameras. In Cincinnati alone, police already have access to 118 security cameras, but anticipate having access to over 1,000 by the end of 2014. That number doesn’t include footage from cameras that law enforcement can acquire when private businesses cooperate in investigations. Anyone with access to the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway can potentially identify and acquire personal information — including home addresses or driver’s license and social security numbers of strangers. 

Last week, DeWine informed The Enquirer that his office didn’t believe the public needed to be informed of the system’s launch because 26 other states already have such databases in operation.....

Right. Mike DeWine thinks that the public doesn't need to know this latest intrusion into our private information. It sort of reminds me of Gov. John Kasich's claim that the public doesn't need to know how JobsOhio is awarding money to what seems to be his corporate buddies.

Jordan, Chabot, and Wenstrup

Have you heard the latest about Republicans Jim Jordan, Steve Chabot, and Brad Wenstrup?

Dispatch:

Republicans Jim Jordan of Urbana, and Steve Chabot and Brad Wenstrup of Cincinnati were among 80 GOP lawmakers who urged House Speaker John Boehner to back a bill that would halt federal spending to implement the 2010 health care law, known as ObamaCare.
Although the lawmakers did not directly threaten to shut down the government if Boehner, R-West Chester, does not support a bill to kill it by withholding federal dollars, they wrote that “we look forward to collaborating to defund one of the largest grievances in our time.’’
Although ending federal money for the health law has become a pet favorite of conservatives and their allies in the Tea Party movement, most Republicans in the Senate and House are reluctant to provoke a government shutdown over the health law, much of which is scheduled to go into effect next year.
- See more at: http://dispatchpolitics.dispatch.com/content/blogs/the-daily-briefing/2013/08/jordan-8-23-2013.html#sthash.5lZGKFGS.dpuf

Republicans Jim Jordan of Urbana, and Steve Chabot and Brad Wenstrup of Cincinnati were among 80 GOP lawmakers who urged House Speaker John Boehner to back a bill that would halt federal spending to implement the 2010 health care law, known as ObamaCare.

Although the lawmakers did not directly threaten to shut down the government if Boehner, R-West Chester, does not support a bill to kill it by withholding federal dollars, they wrote that “we look forward to collaborating to defund one of the largest grievances in our time.’’

Although ending federal money for the health law has become a pet favorite of conservatives and their allies in the Tea Party movement, most Republicans in the Senate and House are reluctant to provoke a government shutdown over the health law, much of which is scheduled to go into effect next year.....

Jim Jordan, Steve Chabot, and Brad Wenstrup don't care that you don't have health care, a pre-existing condition, or that you lost your health coverage after your last bout of cancer. Jordan, Chabot, and Wenstrup have government supplied health insurance even though they are part of the least productive House of Representatives ever.  Ever. These guys have wasted hours and hours voting 40 times to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Do you know how many jobs Jordan, Chabot, and Wenstrup have created? Zero! The only people they care about are themselves--not you, not your sick kids, or your frail parents. Jordan, Chabot, Wenstrup, Boehner and the rest of the Tea Party-loving cohorts need to be voted out of office for their lack of a work effort.

In the next election, we need to tell these Republicans and their Tea Party friends--- you've been voted out!

Republicans Jim Jordan of Urbana, and Steve Chabot and Brad Wenstrup of Cincinnati were among 80 GOP lawmakers who urged House Speaker John Boehner to back a bill that would halt federal spending to implement the 2010 health care law, known as ObamaCare.
Although the lawmakers did not directly threaten to shut down the government if Boehner, R-West Chester, does not support a bill to kill it by withholding federal dollars, they wrote that “we look forward to collaborating to defund one of the largest grievances in our time.’’
Although ending federal money for the health law has become a pet favorite of conservatives and their allies in the Tea Party movement, most Republicans in the Senate and House are reluctant to provoke a government shutdown over the health law, much of which is scheduled to go into effect next year.
- See more at: http://dispatchpolitics.dispatch.com/content/blogs/the-daily-briefing/2013/08/jordan-8-23-2013.html#sthash.5lZGKFGS.dpuf

Republicans Jim Jordan of Urbana, and Steve Chabot and Brad Wenstrup of Cincinnati were among 80 GOP lawmakers who urged House Speaker John Boehner to back a bill that would halt federal spending to implement the 2010 health care law, known as ObamaCare.
Although the lawmakers did not directly threaten to shut down the government if Boehner, R-West Chester, does not support a bill to kill it by withholding federal dollars, they wrote that “we look forward to collaborating to defund one of the largest grievances in our time.’’
Although ending federal money for the health law has become a pet favorite of conservatives and their allies in the Tea Party movement, most Republicans in the Senate and House are reluctant to provoke a government shutdown over the health law, much of which is scheduled to go into effect next year.
- See more at: http://dispatchpolitics.dispatch.com/content/blogs/the-daily-briefing/2013/08/jordan-8-23-2013.html#sthash.5lZGKFGS.dpuf

Another Kasich scandal???

It is getting very difficult to keep up with all of the ethics problems going on in the administration of Republican Gov. John Kasich.  Last week, the head of the water safety division of the Ohio EPA was forced to resign, allegedly to make room for someone who'd look the other way. Now there is yet another scandal in the Kasich administration involving nepotism and possibly a coverup.

Plunderbund:

On January 31, 2012 the Ohio Inspector General opened an investigation into Rick Hodges, Kasich’s Turnpike Commission Director.   The investigation stemmed from a complaint about nepotism and improper hiring practices surrounding the hiring of Hodges’ wife while he was Director of Legislative Development at the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation.....

....According to state payroll records, Susan Hodges continued her “interim” work at BWC for 19 months, first as a Word Processing Specialist 2 and later as an Administrative Professional 1 – leaving in May 2013.  Those same records show she then spent June of this year as a Clerk 1 at the Ohio Cosmetology Board before being hired at the Ohio Lottery Commission in July as an Administrative Professional 4 with over double the salary of her previous position at BWC.

Hodges, a former Republican State Representative, helped Kasich push through his plan to add $1.5 Billion in debt to the Ohio Turnpike so that the governor could use the one-time money to fund transportation projects.....

We're going to need a scorecard to keep all of these scandals, ethics problems, and FOK (friends of Kasich) benefits.

Gerrymandering

Remember when you learned the term "gerrymandering" in school? If you want to see gerrymandering in action, check out Slate Magazine's "Gerrymandering Jigsaw Puzzle Game" at this link.  Ohio is one of the state's used in the examples (No.6). The Republicans just want to protect their own jobs, while they do nothing to create new jobs.

Did Kasich's contributors push out EPA water chief???

The person in charge of insuring Ohio's waters are clean is being booting out by Republican Gov. John Kasich.

Dispatch:

....In an email sent to his staff today and obtained by The Dispatch, George Elmaraghy, chief of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency’s division of surface water, wrote that the coal industry wants “permits that may have a negative impact on Ohio’s streams and wetlands and violate state and federal laws.”

“Now, due to this situation, the governor’s office and the director have asked me to resign my position.” 

...Since Kasich began his gubernatorial campaign in 2009, Ohio coal interests have poured nearly $1 million into campaign coffers of statewide and legislative candidates, a Dispatch analysis of secretary of state data shows.....

....More than $870,000 of the overall amount comes from just two coal families: the Boiches, who run the Boich companies, and Robert Murray, who runs Murray Energy.... 

Money talks in Ohio politics.

**** Speaking of pollutants------
The petroleum coke that has created a mess for the residents of Detroit is being sent to Ohio.

 Mlive:
...Koch Carbon is shipping the large black mounds of tar sands byproduct to a site in Ohio, and Peters said the storage of petroleum coke has now expanded to cities across the country....

....The petroleum coke was produced by Marathon Petroleum refinery but is owned by Koch Carbon, which is run by well-known businessmen Charles and David Koch....

For a video of the blowing petroleum coke, see the video at Mlive.

More Job Losses in Ohio?

There is a potential job disaster in Monroe County, Ohio. The operator of a large aluminum plant has been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for a response from Gov. John Kasich, JobsOhio, AEP, and the PUCO, regarding electricity rates. Even though this has been going on for months, Kasich & Co. seem to be dragging their feet.

Here is an editorial from TimesLeaderOnline:

...Tom Byers, USW Local 5724 president, said Ormet is the third largest aluminum smelter in the country and the plant has a $238 million economic impact....

...Unfortunately, Kasich, PUCO and AEP have their collective heads buried in the sand, refusing to discuss potential remedies....

....With that being the case, we do not understand why Kasich will not go to bat for the aluminum maker. Having Ormet pay a fair price for electricity while saving a 1,000 jobs is a no-brainer....

Why won't Kasich and the related parties act? Are the executives of Ormet not major contributors to the Republican Party? Does Kasich not care about job losses in the Ohio Valley? Does the fact that the area has more Democratic voters than Republicans make it uninteresting to Kasich & Co.?

**** Democratic candidate for Ohio Governor, Ed Fitzgerald, has been visiting voters all over Ohio explaining why a change is needed in Columbus.
Advertiser-Tribune:

Gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald spoke to Seneca County Democrats about Gov. John Kasich's economy and his campaign platform in Fostoria Saturday.

He started his public service career by becoming a special agent with the FBI. As an agent, he was assigned to the Organized Crime Task Force in Chicago. There, he investigated political corruption and mafia influence, including stopping the Cicero crime syndicate. After his service, he returned to Ohio and served as assistant county prosecutor and mayor of Lakewood. After the establishment of the county council in 2009 to eliminate corruption among the board of county commissioners, FitzGerald was voted county executive....

...One of FitzGerald's main points against Kasich was the JobsOhio program and the corruption found within the program. He said public money is going into a private corporation. Because of this shift, the public then does not know what is done with the state money, since it is placed into private hands.

"We're not allowed to know," he said....

Kasich doesn't want Ohioans to know how our tax money is being spent. Ridiculous.

Just What You'd Expect

With calls across the state for an investigation of JobsOhio by newspapers, citizens, and elected officials, you'll be happy to know that Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich has been cleared of wrong doings by----------------- his cheerleaders/worshippers at the Columbus Dispatch, and some of his appointees at the Ohio Ethics Commission. 

Dispatch:

The Ohio Ethics Commission delivered a double-barreled shot yesterday to those questioning possible conflicts of interest involving Gov. John Kasich’s secretive job-creation efforts.

Chairman Merom Brachman and Executive Director Paul Nick declared that:

• A newly detailed complaint that Kasich got money from Worthington Industries in the same years that more than $500,000 in state tax credits were approved for the company won’t be considered because the payments represented deferred compensation set up in 2008.....


More baloney, baloney, baloney......

The name "Merom Brachman" should bring back this from Plunderbund (January 28, 2011):

...Kasich needed to appoint two Democrats and one Republican to the Ethics Commission. And checking a person’s voter registration is the typical method for determining if someone meets the statutory requirement.

One of the “Democrats” he chose was Maryann Gall, a central Ohio lawyer. According to the Franklin County Board of Elections website she is not officially a Democrat by Ohio’s standards. Instead she is “unaffiliated”.

The same thing goes for Merom Brachman. Brachman was just reappointed to an unexpired term vacancy on the Commission as the “Republican” but, just like Gall, the FCBE lists him as “unaffiliated”....

Nick Paul, on the other hand, was apppointed by former Gov. George Voinovich, a Republican. Enough said.

Don't believe Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor

Despite Ohio Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor's claim that the Affordable Care Act will cause health premiums to reach the sky (see Politico), nothing can be further from the truth. Taylor is also in charge of the Ohio Department of Insurance and reluctantly set up to work on the exchanges necessary for the coming Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare).  A recent study by Kaiser Family Foundation (h/t DailyKos), shows that the Republicans are pulling numbers out of their respective @**#*.

KaiserFamilyFoundation:

A number of states have recently released information on what premiums will be in the individual insurance market in 2014, when significant changes in that market take effect due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In some cases, states have provided estimates of how those premiums compare to what people buying their own insurance are paying today.

However, these premiums are in effect “sticker prices” that many people will not pay because they will be eligible for federal tax credits under the ACA to offset the cost of insurance. In this data note, we explain how the tax credits will work and estimate how much premium assistance people now buying their own insurance will be eligible for in 2014....

Check out the KaiserFamilyFoundation Subsidy Calculator here.

Where is the decency?

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


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

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

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

********

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

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

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

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

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

Stivers and his Republican buddies just don't care.
 

Suspicious?

More and more people and media are starting to ask questions about the operation of JobsOhio, the super secret, pet project of Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican. JobsOhio was the brainchild of Kasich. The agency takes state tax money, and private money and allows directors to dole out money to corporations for job development. Unfortunately, Ohio taxpayers don't know what criteria is used in the financial awards, how new jobs are counted, and if money is paid back if companies fail to deliver jobs. It is also unknown as to why members of the JobsOhio board have received some of that development money.  Are there financial awards provided to board members that bring new jobs to the state?  There are growing questions and suspicion surrounding the entire agency.

YoungstownVindicator:

....As we’ve argued time and again in this space, Kasich and the Republican majority in the Legislature have strained credulity by enacting legislation that says JobsOhio is a private group and, therefore, does not have to adhere to state laws that guarantee transparency and public scrutiny.....

.....When the public — read that taxpayers — is kept in the dark about the inner workings of an entity that spends public dollars, bad things happen.

The Dayton Daily News, which has been unyielding in its push to blow the lid off JobsOhio, recently revealed that six of the nine members of the board of directors have direct financial ties to companies receiving public money....


Gov. Kasich has cut money to schools, counties, cities, and villages. Layoffs have taken place across the state in schools, police and fire departments. Where is all that money going? Is JobsOhio getting it? We want some answers.

JobsOhio must not being doing such a good job because there are more layoffs listed on the Warn page for ODJFS. Here is an updated ODJFS list with two new employers announcing layoffs:

Date Rec'd	Company	City/County	Potential Number Affected	Layoff Date(s)	Phone Number	Union	Notice ID
08-09-2013	JPMorgan Chase (Mortgage Bank)	Columbus/Franklin	97	10-11-2013	201-595-5230	N/A	011-13-010
08-09-2013	CSC Worldwide	Columbus/Franklin	94	08-09-2013	614-462-2228	International Union of Painters and Allied Trades Local Union; Glaziers, Architectural Metal and Glass Workers Local Union; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union; United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Carpenters Industrial Council Local Union; and Sheet Metal Workers International Association Local Union	011-13-009

John Kasich is just failing to deliver the jobs.

More Layoffs in Ohio

Republican Gov. John Kasich is trying to sell the people of Ohio some baloney. Kasich keeps saying that there is an economic "miracle" in the state. Since the public is not allowed to view the backroom, super secret "development" money being given to corporations, we have no idea how the money relates to real jobs. We've been advised to just take Kasich's word for it. Sure. 

In the meantime, the job losses keep piling up in Ohio. Here is the latest from ODJFS Warn page:

 

Date Rec'd	Company	City/County	Potential Number Affected	Layoff Date(s)	Phone Number	Union	Notice ID
08-08-2013	Wells Fargo (Home Mortgage Northeast Retail Fulfillment Group)	West Chester/Butler	63	10-06-2013	704-383-2657	N/A	012-13-008
08-08-2013	Ormet	Hannibal/Monroe	901	08-01-2013 thru 10-31-2013	740-483-2641	United Steel, Paper, Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union	015-13-007
07-26-2013	TimberTech	Columbus/Franklin	58	09-27-2013	570-558-8033	N/A	011-13-006
07-24-2013	BEF Foods, INC (Bob Evans)	Bidwell/Gallia	52	10-15-2013	614-492-4921	N/A	007-13-005
07-23-2013	Arrow Electronics	Solon/Cuyahoga	54	09-27-2013	303-824-4181	N/A	003-13-004
07-15-2013	Reser's Fine Foods	Delphos/Allen	104	09-13-2013	503-643-6431	N/A	007-13-003
07-15-2013	Nations Lending Corporation	Independence/Cuyahoga	48	06-11-2013	866-447-0266	N/A	003-13-002
07-09-2013	Community United Head Start and day Care	Cleveland/Cuyahoga	85	06-28-2013 thru 08-31-2013	216-391-8333 ext 111	Service Employees International Union Local 1199	003-13-001
06-27-2013	Walgreens Medicare Part B Call Center	West Chester/Butler	121	07-01-2013 thru 10-31-2013	513-645-5639	N/A	012-12-066
06-18-2013	DialAmerica Marketing	Columbus/Franklin	143	08-23-2013	1-800-531-3131 ext 2101	N/A	011-12-065
06-17-2013	Verizon Wireless-Dublin	Dublin/Franklin	62	08-31-2013	248-915-3868	N/A	011-12-064
06-17-2013	Verizon Wireless- Youngstown	Youngstown/Mahoning	64	08-31-2013	248-915-3868	N/A	017-12-063
06-14-2013	Blue Cross and Blue Shield (Palmetto)	Columbus/Franklin and Wheelersburg/Scioto	159	08-23-2013 thru 09-13-2013	803-264-2477	N/A	011-12-062
06-11-2013	Starr Commonwealth	Columbus/Franklin	77	08-13-2013	517-630-2580	Glass, Molders, Pottery, Plastics, and Allied Workers International Union Local No. 288	011-12-061
06-05-2013	Bradley Caldwell (BCI)	Mason/Warren	81	08-05-2013	570-455-7511 ext 285	N/A	012-12-060
06-03-2013	Metro Container	Cincinnati/Hamilton	45	07-31-2013	513-705-2947	N/A	013-12-059
05-29-2013	Diamond Crystal Brands	Perrysburg/Wood	125	07-26-2013	912-651-4898	United Food and Commercial Workers Local 75	007-12-058
05-24-2013	CACI International (TechniGraphics, Inc)	Wooster/Wayne	142	07-22-2013	703-460-1587	N/A	007-12-057
05-06-2013	First Student	Columbus/Franklin	300	06-30-2013	513-761-5136 ext 3	N/A	011-12-056
05-02-2013	Sodexo	Dayton/Greene	134	06-30-2013	614-381-7346	United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America	007-12-055

The table above is only a partial list. To see the complete list of layoffs, go to the ODJFS Warn page.

Where are the planned layoffs from First Energy? Why haven't those job cuts been listed? (see AkronBeacon)

At this rate of layoffs in Ohio, Kasich could be creating a major economic disaster in our state. Yet rumor has it that Kasich has been thinking of running for President again. Considering his anti-women agenda (see previous posts), that should go over like a lead balloon.

Has anyone bothered to ask John Boehner, Pat Tiberi, Steve Stivers, and the rest of the Republicans in the House of Representatives where are the jobs they promised???? Are they more interested in opposing President Obama than helping you find employment?

Kasich Punishes Ohio Women

Plunderbund has the evidence that shows how Republican Gov. John Kasich and his Republican sheeple in the Ohio General Assembly have gone after women.

Plunderbund graphic

Women should not vote for Kasich or any Republican that denies us our rights. We are not second class citizens.

Kasich WAS AGAINST the Auto Bailout

Although the administration of Gov. John Kasich might deny that he was against saving the American auto industry, here are a few reminders------

From this blog (1/16/13):

Ohioans cannot forget Kasich's lack of support for the auto industry, although now he thinks we have amnesia about that detail.
WashingtonMonthly: 


...Kay at Balloon Juice explained, “I’m pleased that GM is hiring. But, it is deeply offensive to me that former FOX News personality and auto bailout opponent Ohio Governor John Kasich is busy scooping up the political reward for a risk he and the entire lock-step conservative chorus decided it was politically expedient not to take. They bet against the bailout. Now that it’s showing signs of success, they’re showing up to take credit. No risk, all reward.”

Exactly. Kasich, like other Ohio Republicans, including House Speaker John Boehner, decried Obama’s rescue of the American automotive industry. The president said it would work, Kasich said it would not. Obama was right; Kasich was wrong.

Or put another way, GM’s Toledo Powertrain Plant almost certainly wouldn’t exist is Kasich had his way.....

While Kasich goes and begs for jobs, he hopes that the auto industry executives forget that he did not believe in their future and ability to turn things around.

ThinkProgress (12/1/11):

....When first asked about financial aid for the auto industry in 2008, Kasich dismissed the idea, saying, “If they’re not going to be viable, we shouldn’t throw good money after bad.” Asked for his feelings now that the rescue is showing success, Kasich said he is “very pleased” that the Americans have the jobs he originally opposed saving...

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

- How will Kasich handle the latest layoffs in Akron? The Akron Beacon Journal reports that major layoffs are in the future at First Energy, 70 in Akron alone.

- While Gov. John Kasich and his p.r. department, the Columbus Dispatch, tell stories of some Ohio miracle in job creation, the citizens Ohio aren't be given facts and evidence. Kasich refuses to provide any transparency to the operation of JobsOhio. Kasich thinks we're too stupid to understand. 

Check out Plunderbund's latest on Kasich's numbers in the job creation department.

We Want to Know...

Democratic candidate for Ohio Governor, Ed Fitzgerald, is calling for an investigation of Republican Gov. John Kasich's pet project, JobsOhio.

BusinessFirst:

A report questioning the financial ties of some JobsOhio directors has prompted Ohio gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald to call for an investigation by the Ohio Ethics Commission, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

The Dayton Daily News last week reported that six of the nine board members at the state's privatized economic-development agency had ties to businesses that had benefitted from tax incentive deals and other state financial aid. Although a JobsOhio spokeswoman said the deals predated the board members' service, FitzGerald said the issue warranted further investigation to see if "the process is being abused," the Plain Dealer reported....

...."(Kasich) has got to, as best as he can, dispel this cloud now hovering over JobsOhio," FitzGerald said in a teleconference, the Plain Dealer reported. "First of all, Gov. Kasich and the board need to self-disclose any other conflicts out there. They need to do a full and complete disclosure."


Ohio tax payers need answers to questions, such as....
•  How is it that corporate people that serve on the board of JobsOhio got money from the program?
•  If the development and tax incentives were given out before the beginning of JobsOhio, show the public the paperwork.
•  If the Kasich administration and JobsOhio has nothing to hide, why are they afraid to share how they are spending our tax money?
•  How are jobs created under JobsOhio being counted? If Timber Tech laid off 58 people, but relocates to another city and hires 85 people, does the number of new jobs created equal 27 (85 jobs in Wilmington - 58 laid off in Columbus = 27)?
•  How are tax incentives awarded to companies? Are the winning corporations tied to a list of campaign contributors, friends, or country club buddies?
•  Are companies that have union employees also being given fair access to grant money and tax incentives from JobsOhio?

Ohioans want to know how our tax money is being spent. Open up the books.

* * *

>>>> Gov. John Kasich is saying Ohio had a surplus?????  Really? When cuts went to every city, county, school, and services in Ohio, of course he created a surplus. How else can you explain the thousands of police, fire fighters, teachers, and service workers losing their jobs across the state?

More on JobsOhio

There was a very interesting radio discussion today on WOSU (89.7). Ann Fisher's program, All Sides, had guests that are reporters based at the Ohio Statehouse. Many topics were discussed, including the growing scandal and lack of transparency surrounding Gov. John Kasich's JobsOhio agency. The reporters noted that the Republican controlled General Assembly set up JobsOhio to have no oversight, no audit by the State Auditor, and exempt from Sunshine Laws. It was also mentioned that JobsOhio is set up to last 25 years and be funded by $100 million from the Liquor Control funds.  One reporter also said that if Kasich is re-elected, there could be a Watergate type investigation to examine the program.  You can listen to the audio of the program at WOSU.

Any commingling of public and private funds is a recipe for disaster. Taxpayers don't even know how their tax dollars are being spent because there is no transparency.

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*** If you haven't heard about the bizarre claims Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor is making about the Affordable Care Act, you'd better read Plunderbund.  Here is an excerpt from Plunderbund:

Matt Borges, Chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, sent out a fundraising email this weekend claiming that Obamacare is going to raise insurance rates for Ohioans.   His “information” comes from a flawed announcement made by Mary Taylor a day earlier.
 
Borges claims “Ohioans can expect their insurance premiums to skyrocket by as much as 41% next year” thanks to Obamacare and Ohio’s federally-run health care insurance exchange.   His claim is based on a press release put out by Taylor’s office titled “Health Insurance Premiums to Increase 41 Percent Due to Affordable Care Act.”


Not only is the 41% number not true, but Borges and Taylor both imply that the increase will impact everyone in Ohio with insurance, which is absolutely pants-on-fire false....


I guess we can see that the Republicans in Ohio are just not dealing with reality. Every state that has released their health care figures under the Affordable Care Act has shown far lower rates than what was projected.

Candidate for Ohio's 15th District

A Democratic candidate has entered the race to unseat Republican Rep. Steve Stivers.

AthensNews:

...This past week, Scott Wharton, a farmer and Democrat from Amanda in Fairfield County, announced his challenge to Stivers for the seat.....

...Wharton also stands for organized labor, veterans rights, agriculture, women's rights, Social Security and Medicare to name a few...

...as a veteran himself, Wharton thinks it is "vital that all veterans who have fearlessly served receive all the support and medical care they have earned and he will ensure that our country lives up to this obligation."



Wouldn't it be great to have someone in Washington, DC working for the middle class? Stivers appears to be working for bankers and investment firms. Scott Warton has a website and is on Facebook.

Number 40 for Boehner's Republicans

Speaker of the House John Boehner and the Republicans had their 40th vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act! Steve Stivers, Pat Tiberi, and the rest of the Ohio Republicans joined in on the idiotic exercise.  You can find the roll call vote here. Daily Kos has more about the GOP's latest vote.

>>> Ethics investigation???? It appears that a few more people are asking for ethics investigations of Gov. John Kasich and his JobsOhio.

Here is what the Kasich-loving, Republican-leaning newspaper said about the suggestion for an ethics probe-----Dispatch:

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald’s ethics complaint against Gov. John Kasich and JobsOhio likely will be thrown out by the Ohio Ethics Commission.

That’s because the bipartisan watchdog panel was stripped of oversight authority over Kasich’s privatized economic development nonprofit, Paul Nick, executive director of the Ethics Commission, told The Dispatch.....

What could an investigation find? We should all push for an investigation.