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Empty Suit Still Empty; Plain Dealer Reports Actual Facts.
05/07/2012

Josh "The Empty Suit" Mandel still doesn't feel that Ohio voters are entitled to know clearly where he stands on issues, even though he is running to "represent" them in the U.S. Senate. In typically evasive fashion, his spokespersons hilariously accuse his opponent Senator Sherrod Brown of taking positions for political gain — never mind that his positions are principled, pragmatic solutions to problems — while twisting around their answers to become partisan attacks.

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2012/04/josh_mandels_press_secre...

Trying to figure out precisely where Mandel stands on issues like the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act or the potential imminent doubling of student loan interest can be a head-scratcher.

A spokesperson for Mandel turns a query about student loan interest into a recitation of GOP talking points about their big bugaboo: "spending" (although it's only a bugaboo when the "spending" benefits ordinary people — tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations is, in fact, "spending" as well).

While the spokesperson said Mandel favors the lower interest rate, he didn't say how Mandel would pay for it. The Republicans in Congress are proposing that rather than making the wealthy pay their fair share, the money to keep student loan interest low be taken from money earmarked for health-care reform — a backdoor way of trying to repeal part of the Affordable Care Act.

Brown has other ideas. According to the Plain Dealer,

To pay for this subsidy, Brown would require certain S corporations to pay the payroll taxes (for Social Security and Medicare) that they now avoid by passing income to shareholders -- in many cases, themselves. Brown and others say that wealthy business owners do this to duck taxes on their earnings.

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Catholic College Disinvites State Rep. Bob Hagan as Graduation Speaker.
05/07/2012

I probably don't have to tell you why Youngstown's Mercy College School of Nursing took back an invitation to state Rep. Bob Hagan of Youngstown to speak at their graduation Tuesday.

http://www.wkbn.com/content/news/local/story/Hagan-Uninvited-to-Speak-at...

Catholic institutions do not rescind invitations because they learn that a speaker has supported the death penalty, or advocated against access to health care, or voted to strip funding for feeding hungry children — all contrary, in theory, to Catholic teachings.

No. This church has become a one-issue institution and that one issue — opposing women's rights and women's autonomy — overrides everything else it does these days. (OK, technically two issues — it also rails against gay marriage).

We saw this is its recent release of its findings in a lengthy "investigation" into the activities of American nuns, when it announced that it felt they were wasting too much time serving those in need and too little time campaigning against gay marriage, abortion, and the ordination of women. And we see it in the selectivity of the speakers they choose to disinvite to speaker at Catholic institution.

Hagan said on his Facebook page,

I have fought for social justice my entire life and today, I am one disappointed Catholic. After being invited to give the commencement speech at Mercy Nursing School here in Youngstown, I got a call telling me that the Bishop has overruled their invite and they have rescinded the invitation because of some of the political positions I have taken. I am saddened that the work that I have done to feed the poor, clothe the naked, help cure the sick, and to bring an end to the death penalty has fallen on deaf ears.

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A Huxleyan world - - Has a Brave New World come to pass?
05/07/2012

I started re-reading some of the books assigned to me when I was an undergrad. The forward in one of the books, Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death jumped out at me. Could it explain, at least in part, what is currently going on in our political environment? The forward starts...

"We were keeping our eye on 1984. When the year came and the prophecy didn't, thoughtful Americans sang softly in praise of themselves. The roots of liberal democracy had held. Wherever else the terror had happened, we, at least, had not been visted by Orwellian nightmares.

But we had forgotten that alongside Orwell's dark vision, there was another-slightly older, slightly less well known, equally chilling: Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Contrary to common belief even among the educated, Huxley and Orwell did not prophesy the same thing. Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley's vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.

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Sherrod Brown goes on the offensive
05/07/2012

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Josh Mandel = HA HA, HA HA, HA HA, HA
05/07/2012

So according to the Plain Dealer Josh Mandel, or his spokesperson tried to offer his position on two pending pieces of legislation going through Congress.

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2012/04/josh_mandel_supports_con...

The two pieces of legislation are the Violence Against Women Act and the student loan interest rate issue.

Uh huh…

Dude, Josh, at this point... you’re a joke.

Who cares what your lying opinion is?

Is it the same as your phony outrage over “cronyism” when Kevin Boyce was State Treasurer?

What was your quote?...

“Unlike the current officeholder, I will ensure that my staff is comprised of qualified financial professionals — rather than political cronies and friends — and that investment decisions are based on what is best for Ohioans.”

http://www.plunderbund.com/2012/04/02/cronyism-at-its-worst-mandel-hired...

Or the pathetic way you play cat-n-mouse with public records requests?...

”Josh added that: “Democrat operatives made several different requests for information about the employees in my office, and we provided 18 compact discs full of data containing thousands of pages of the employees’ résumés, salary and payroll information.”

Also untrue. The 18 discs, which ODP received eight months after its initial request, included more than 41,000 pages of disorganized and unrequested information, including the payment information for every single employee working for the State of Ohio in 2011, but just 12 of the requested resumes.”

http://ohiodems.org/news/in-letter-to-the-editor-josh-mandel-arrogantly-...

Real cute, Josh.

One would expect better from a veteran – except when one examines your service.

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President Obama slow jams the news with Jimmy Fallon
05/07/2012

The following is pretty funny...

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From OFA - Spread the word about SB 295
05/07/2012

From OFA:

"The Ohio House is scheduled to vote on SB 295 as early as tomorrow, and House Republicans think Ohio voters don't know what they're up to.

They want us to believe this is an honest repeal of the restrictions on our voting rights in HB 194, the bill they passed last summer that would have slashed early voting in half -- and that hundreds of thousands of Ohio voters spoke out against and successfully put up for referendum.

We know better. This bill could mean an end to our last three days of early voting this November -- and would change the rules, right in the middle of an election year. It's an unambiguous attack on our voting rights.

We're not going to let Ohio Republicans silence voters -- no matter how hard they try.

The next step? We've got to double down on our efforts. If they pass this bill, we'll be registering more voters, going door to door to educate folks about their rights, and doing our best to ensure every Buckeye can cast a vote this fall.

That starts by getting the word out about what this House vote could mean for the folks who rely on early voting, and why it's so important to fight back."

You can help fight back by clicking on this link and adding your name to those that oppose these measures:
https://my.barackobama.com/fight-sb-295

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Small amount of sanity strikes legislature & at least for now
05/07/2012

Today, instead of voting to defund Planned Parenthood, the primary source of health-care for many poor and limited-income working women, as expected, the House Finance and Appropriations Committee removed the language from the pending budget review bill that would have defunded Planned Parenthood along with other family planning providers.

Kellie Copeland of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio reports, "The amendment was adopted on April 17, 2012 without a recorded vote by members of the House Finance and Appropriations Committee."

That was probably so that the Republican members of the committee could duck under the radar of extremist anti-choice, anti-woman groups.

Copeland also said,

Thousands of pro-choice Ohioans, including 1,457 NARAL members, called and wrote their state representatives demanding that this attack on women's health and privacy be removed from the budget. We are pleased that the measure was removed in committee today. However, this is only the first step in the budget process, and anything could still happen.

With this bunch "anything can happen" indeed. So in other words, keep your eyes open and watch for further sneaky, one-day's-notice moves. And continue to let you representatives in the legislature know how you feel about their attacks on women's rights and freedom.

And don't forget the forum on Fighting Back in the War on Women in the west side of Cuyahoga County on June 19. It will offer some practical advice for staying on top of these issues and action you can take. More details here:

https://www.facebook.com/login.php

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"The Weakest Man in America"
05/07/2012

Everyone who knows me knows my contempt for a certain rock guitarist from Michigan. During the time I was writing music reviews for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, I was asked to cover a show he was on. After he spent a good chunk of his set making derogatory remarks about Mexicans, I told my editor to please not ask me to cover another of his shows. While I was calendar editor at Cleveland alt weekly the Free Times, I followed a policy of never mentioning his name. I continue to follow the policy of not naming this bigoted, hateful, obnoxious, trash-talking loudmouth.

But this video is just TOO funny as host Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks dismantles this pathetic creature. You'll enjoy it.

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"Vicious, heartless, and unconscionable"
05/07/2012

That's how state senator Nina Turner of Cleveland described the sneak attack of the Republicans in Ohio's legislature on Planned Parenthood — the sole source of health care for many poor, working, and uninsured women.

Today the legislature's Democratic caucus held a press conference to talk about a plank in the revised budget bill that would strip funding from Planned Parenthood and sever access for thousands of women to services like cancer screening and contraception.

At that conference, Turner said,

The House Republicans’ new ‘priority system’ for the allocation of federal dollars by the state clearly demonstrates that the health and well-being of Ohio’s women is not a priority of their caucus.

“What kind of state are we living in? It is unbelievable that elected officials—stewards of the public interest—would seek to deliberately deny millions of working class and underprivileged women access to high quality healthcare services. This new plan is another vicious, heartless, and unconscionable volley in the Republican war on women. This narrow policy will disproportionately affect low income and rural areas, and will have consequences that will ripple across the state. I urge Ohio’s 5.8 million women and the men who love and respect them to speak out against it.

http://ohiosenatedems.blogspot.com/2012/04/senator-turner-reacts-to-prop...

What kind of state indeed, and what kind of country is this that continually displays such "vicious, heartless and unconscionable" behavior toward people struggling to get ahead, people not privileged to be born into a rich family like Louis VXI & Marie Antoinette Romney? These policies are so lacking in basic empathy and caring for others they are borderline sociopathic.

That number again for Ron Amstutz, head of the House Finance & Appropriations Committee which is bringing this garbage to the floor of the House: (614) 466-1474.

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City eyes domestic partner registry
04/25/2012

DAYTON - City Commission is considering an ordinance to establish a domestic partnership registry for unmarried couples without regard to sexual orientation.

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House Agriculture Committee backs Great Lakes water plan
04/25/2012

COLUMBUS - A plan to allow businesses to withdraw millions of gallons of water a day from Lake Erie won the support the Ohio House Agriculture Committee on Tuesday, but environmentalists and sportsmen say the current bill fails to protect streams and rivers that feed Lake Erie.

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Commission split on contract
04/25/2012

XENIA - Two incoming members of the Greene County Board of Commissioners voiced opposition on Tuesday to a resolution that would secure the county administrator’s job for the next three years.

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Undercover officer, suspect out of hospital
04/25/2012

DAYTON - The undercover officer shot in the torso while pursuing a suspect in Trotwood, April 15, has been released from Miami Valley Hospital, police said Tuesday.

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Senate tries to bar postal cuts
04/25/2012

WASHINGTON - The Senate moved Tuesday to impose new restrictions on the closing of rural post offices, adopting a provision that would prevent them from being shuttered for at least a year.

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Levy sought to buy land for park
04/25/2012

SUGARCREEK TWP., Greene County - Voters in November will be asked to approve a levy to cover the $3.1 million purchase of future parkland described as “gorgeous,” by Jeff Stewart, the executive director of the Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Park District.

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Bedbug discovered at area school
04/25/2012

DAYTON - Extermination efforts were under way in a New Lebanon middle school on Tuesday after one bedbug was discovered in a computer lab the day before.

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Restaurateur Gloria Anticoli dies
04/25/2012

Gloria Anticoli, matriarch of a family that has operated Dayton-area restaurants since 1931, died Monday at her Friendship Village apartment, according to her brother, Leo Anticoli.

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Landline law scrutinized
04/25/2012

COLUMBUS - A study released Tuesday suggests Ohio’s economy would benefit by removing a law that requires phone companies to provide basic landline service Between 15,000 and 30,000 Ohio jobs are created or supported each year because of broadband investments, according to a study by Cleveland-area economists Jack Kleinhenz and Russ Smith.

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Huber Heights among 5 districts announcing cuts
04/25/2012

HUBER HEIGHTS - Huber Heights City Schools is the latest large, local school district to announce job and service cuts for the next school year.

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Xenia city officials investigate duck deaths
04/25/2012

XENIA – City officials will try to determine how at least nine wild ducklings died in Shawnee Park’s pond and if the deaths are connected to recent renovations there.

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Central State announces 4 finalists for next president
04/25/2012

WILBERFORCE - The four finalists to become the eighth president of Central State University will visit campus Saturday to interview with the board of trustees.

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Blaze rips through homes at Beaver Valley Resort
04/25/2012

HARMONY TWP., Clark Co. - Fire crews responded to the scene of two trailers engulfed in flames in Harmony Twp.

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Local jobless rate takes sharp fall
04/25/2012

Unemployment fell sharply last month across the Miami Valley, including in Montgomery County, where the rate dropped to 8.5 percent from 8.9 in February.

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Fish kills related to oil fire under investigation by ODNR
04/25/2012

State investigators are checking area streams for fish kills, at least two of which could be related to the massive oil company fire Thursday in Pike Twp, Clark County.

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