tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150257682024-03-19T03:47:22.039-04:00Blue Ohio BlogUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger194125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-10160700032838920042010-08-14T12:44:00.002-04:002010-08-14T12:44:08.890-04:00BSB Back in Action<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">Buckeye State Blog is back in action and better than ever!</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-71968854898182334312010-08-11T22:07:00.000-04:002010-08-11T22:07:32.769-04:00BSB Takes A TumbleTo all interested parties-<br />
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It seems as though BSB's trusty Drupal install has been hacked. Our hosting company shut us down until we upgrade, trouble is we're not sure how exactly to accomplish that upgrade. I'll post more details as they are available. David and I are about to throw in the towel on this for the evening.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-19387832664669629762010-01-17T21:08:00.001-05:002010-01-17T21:10:45.922-05:00Back To HibernationAs you all know, I started this blog in August 2005, put into hibernation when I began blogging on the front page of BSB in early 2008, and then restarted it last year after my sudden departure from BSB in March 2009.<br /><br />Now, with the 2010 election cycle in full swing, and the environment not as favorable for Democrats as the last two, I have begun making plans for my involvement in this crucial election cycle. As part of that planning exercise, I have had discussions with David of BSB about returning my writing to that blog for the 2010 election cycle. David and I have reached agreement on several areas and I am now returning my writing to BSB effective immediately.<br /><br />Hence, Blue Ohio will fall back into hibernation for the time being. I will put up an RSS feed widget on this blog that will feed over my stories (and that of other front pagers) from BSB. However, I may still be utilizing my Twitter feed (twitter.com/blueohioblog) for political comments on other blogs as well as my own political-related tweets.<div><br /></div><div>2010 is going to be a hell of a ride. Go Team Blue!<br /><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-72770235853037943332009-11-17T18:19:00.000-05:002009-11-17T18:19:44.361-05:00Cleveland Hopkins: Free Wi-Fi Starts TomorrowIt's about <a href="http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/11/free_wi-fi_available_at_clevel.html">freaking time.</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-3439273271606732922009-11-06T13:18:00.000-05:002009-11-06T13:18:18.678-05:00A Funny Thing HappenedTuesday Night, I participated in a live blog of the election results over at <a href="http://www.buckeyestateblog.com/election_night_live_blog">Buckeye State Blog</a> and a funny thing happened.<br />
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I had fun!<br />
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In the midst of all the conversation, BSB's Modern Esquire inquired as to the status of my promised re-launch and re-design of this blog. He deserves an answer, as does everyone else who has asked me about it.<br />
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After using BSB's Drupal platform for over a year, it didn't take me long to become dissatisfied with the restrictions of Blogger. I began contemplating switching to WordPress, which would give me much greater control over the layout and design of the blog. However, switching to WordPress would involve finding a hosting provider, installing WordPress, exporting all of this blog's content into the new format, redirecting the domain name, etc. This is a fair amount of work and quite frankly I just haven't been motivated to do it, because with all the recriminations that have gone on this year I just lost the desire to blog for a good long time.<br />
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Now, however, I hope to get all this done before the end of the month.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-36962162763849154312009-07-18T00:57:00.002-04:002009-07-18T00:59:18.834-04:00Watch for Early August Re-LaunchSo I never really announced that I was taking a break from blogging, but with only 3 posts up since June 10th, it is abundantly obvious that I am. <div><br /></div><div>As of now, I'm planning for an early August re-launch. Stay tuned.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-27860100715114420502009-07-07T20:39:00.000-04:002009-07-07T20:39:18.625-04:00Obama's Approval Tumbles, D's Still Lead Portman For Senate RaceQuinnipiac University's latest poll results on the state of the political landscape here in Ohio were released this morning, and it wasn't pretty for President Obama.<br />
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Given a 62-31 approval rating just two months ago, President Obama now gets a 49-44 approval rating. What's remarkable about this to me is that both the drop in approval and rise in disapproval are exactly 13%, meaning there is no net increase or decrease in the number of Ohioans feeling ambivalent about their new President, a President who has not yet spent 6 months in the White House. My feeling is that Ohioans frustrations with the slow progress on the economic recovery are coming out in these numbers.<br />
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On the 2010 Senate front, Quinnipiac finds both Fisher and Brunner slightly leading the likely GOP candidate former Rep. Rob Portman. Fisher has a slight 3 point lead on Brunner in the Democratic primary, within the polls margin of error.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-81207531240791609812009-07-06T13:46:00.000-04:002009-07-06T13:46:23.919-04:00New Quinny Poll on 2010 U.S. Senate Race TomorrowQuinnipiac University will be out with a new poll tomorrow on Ohio's 2010 U.S. Senate race plus President Obama's approval rating in the Buckeye State. Stay tuned for details.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-54906580762511483652009-06-21T22:32:00.000-04:002009-06-21T22:32:56.952-04:00Strickland In Trouble?: PPP Finds Him Up Only 2 Over KasichH/T Political Wire, a Public Policy Poll released today shows Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland leading former Rep. John Kasich by only 2 points, 44-42. Strickland's approval rating amongst self-described Democrats is down to 62%, while his disapproval amongst self-described GOPers is now 59%. <a href="http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/PPP_Release_Ohio_62103.pdf">See the full poll results here.</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-72874246982167835702009-06-10T09:17:00.000-04:002009-06-10T09:17:09.390-04:00Where Does the Deficit Come From? In Excellent Article, NYT Breaks It DownIn January 2001, as President Clinton was leaving office, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the U.S. Government would run an $800 Billion annual surplus in the years 2009-2012. Instead, the CBO now projects that the Government will run an annual deficit of $1.2 Trillion during that time frame. What accounts for this $2 Trillion dollar swing?<br />
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In an excellent article, <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31199889/">the New York Times breaks it down</a>. 37% of the swing, comes from the downturn in the economy itself. The current recession, plus the one earlier this decade, has reduced government tax revenue while simultaneously requiring more spending on safety net programs like unemployment.<br />
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33% of the swing, according to the NYT, can be pined on the policies of George W. Bush. Specifically, his massive tax cuts for the wealthy, creation of Medicare Part D, the wars in Iraq and Afganhistan, together with the interest payments needed on the debt he ran up with these policies during his term in office, account for 33% of swing.<br />
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President Obama's main contribution to the deficit is in his continuation of certain Bush policies: specifically, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, not calling for the immediate repeal of the Bush tax cuts, etc. NYT figures the continuation of these Bush policies accounts for 20% of the swing.<br />
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In case you are bad at math, that means that now 90% of the swing from an $800 billion surplus to a $1.2 Trillion deficit has been accounted for, and President Obama's only contribution is to continue George W. Bush's policies. The stimulus bill, for the record, counts for a mere 7% of the swing, and President Obama's other policy proposals account for a mere 3%.<br />
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The article goes on to say that while President Obama has contributed little to this deficit, he does not yet have a credible plan for putting the budget back in balance. Then again, neither does the GOP. The article quotes the libertarian Cato Institute saying that the GOP is not credible when it comes to cutting spending.<br />
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Here's my deficit reduction plan: repeal all the Bush tax cuts. Go back to the Clinton tax plan that produced the only balanced budget since Eisenhower. Immediately end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. By immediately, I mean freaking tomorrow.<br />
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Next, immediately end all agricultural subsidies, including ethanol subsidies. These guys were supposed to have been weaned off the public teat 15 years ago. Next, start looking at some of the wasteful spending in the Pentagon. Why does the Marine Corps require two recruit training depots when the much larger Army only has one? Require all federal agencies to pass an audit of their books.<br />
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I figure this will get us halfway there, and then, once the economy comes back, it should cover the rest.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-74043787076698268822009-06-09T19:08:00.000-04:002009-06-09T19:08:28.051-04:00California Becomes GOP Utopia: The Bear Flag Banana Republic!From Slate. Not Ohio specific, of course, but damn funny:<br />
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<embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/271557392" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=25725294001&playerId=271557392&viewerSecureGatewayURL=https://console.brightcove.com/services/amfgateway&servicesURL=http://services.brightcove.com/services&cdnURL=http://admin.brightcove.com&domain=embed&autoStart=false&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="486" height="412" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-60337153871943934122009-06-09T13:08:00.002-04:002009-06-09T13:11:02.822-04:00Cuyahoga County Reform Opponents: What About Summit County?So, the war over reforming Cuyahoga County government is heating up. On her Facebook page yesterday, Rep. Marcia Fudge posted a link to a news story over at WKYC that a county reform plan could be put forth by the end of this week. The PD has a story up about it as well, plus some commentary from Mark Naymik.<br /><br />The thing I can't figure is this. Having read the plan, it seems almost a carbon copy of the charter government that exists in Summit County, our neighbor to the South. And yet, opponents of the plan, led by East Cleveland Mayor Eric Brewer have been comment-spamming the same nonsense all over every story about the reform plan on Cleveland.com. For an example, <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/naymik/index.ssf/2009/06/cuyahoga_county_reform_effort.html">follow this link</a> to Mark Naymik's column on the issue and read the comments.<br /><br />To all these opponents of the reform plan, I just have one question. If all the doom and gloom you are predicting will come to pass, why hasn't it happened in Summit County? They have been operating under a nearly identical county government structure for 30 years! And yet, their sales tax is 1.5% lower, and I don't see any FBI agents raiding their office holder's homes down there.<br /><br />Please, if you're going to criticize a reform plan that is nearly identical to Summit County's, then tell us something that has happened in Summit that you don't like. Give us examples of how Summit's government structure has caused negative issues that makes you oppose bringing their reform plan to Cuyahoga. They have a 30 year track record down there, so if all the doom and gloom you are predicting will actually happen, it would have happened in Akron already.<br /><br />If you aren't willing to do that, then please, STFU, and let rational people discuss this.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-85945607385084054892009-06-08T17:06:00.001-04:002009-06-08T20:30:12.732-04:00JPMorgan Chase Adds 1150 Jobs in Columbus. Blogosphere: Crickets.You wouldn't know it by reading any of Ohio's progressive blogs last week, but JPMorgan Chase, the largest private employer in metro Columbus, announced it is consolidating its customer service operations in facilities in Columbus and Westerville, creating 1,200 jobs. <a href="http://www.webnewswire.com/node/457074">From the presser:</a><br /><blockquote>Leaders from the Ohio Governor Ted Strickland's Office and Departments of Development from Ohio and the cities of Columbus and Westerville worked with Chase to provide generous incentives to attract the new jobs to central Ohio.<br /><br />"We could not be happier to announce that this important project with JPMorgan Chase will bring 1,150 jobs to Columbus as well as retain positions that are already here," Gov. Strickland said. "The company's decision to stay in Columbus and strengthen an already world-renowned presence here is a tremendous boost to our economy and very welcome news for Ohio."<br /><br />Lt. Governor Lee Fisher and Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman were among a delegation of public officials that began discussing this opportunity with Chase leaders more than six months ago.<br /><br />"This project was a dedicated public-private partnership among the State of Ohio, the City of Columbus, and the company at a very pivotal time for our economy," Lt. Gov. Fisher added. "We know that companies have more choices now than ever before, and JP Morgan Chase's commitment to Ohio reinforces their celebrated reputation as being one of our very best success stories."<br /><br />Columbus Mayor Coleman said, "We are gratified that Chase wants to continue to make Columbus its home and grow its operations here. We will keep fighting for every job as we continue to make Columbus an economically competitive city."</blockquote>Why didn't Ohio's progressive blogs trumpet this latest accomplishment by Gov. Ted Strickland and Lt. Gov Lee Fisher? I honestly have no idea. Modern of course didn't mention Chase's job creation when taking a swipe at Fisher because of NCR's move to Atlanta, but as for the rest of the 'sphere? Who knows.<div><br /></div><div>UPDATE: Corrected Title to cite proper number of jobs created. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-80523119899859791752009-06-07T23:58:00.000-04:002009-06-08T15:47:49.060-04:00Stop the Presses: Columbus Dispatch Criticizes Bill Todd?I almost used the blinking light icon on this story, because it's not often that the <i>Dispatch </i>(R-Columbus) criticizes a fellow GOPer. But criticize they did in an editorial in today's issue discussing the <a href="http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/editorials/stories/2009/06/07/DR._EVIL.ART_ART_06-07-09_G4_D1E31R7.html?sid=101">proposal to increase Columbus' income tax to 2.5%:</a><br /><blockquote>But such opposition should be honest, fact-based and well-intentioned. In the long run, no one benefits from misinformation and demagoguery.</blockquote><blockquote>That's why it's disappointing that Bill Todd, the 2007 Republican candidate for mayor, has chosen to criticize as scare tactics the city's plans to lay off hundreds of police officers and firefighters if the tax issue fails.</blockquote><blockquote>If the proposal fails, the city would have no choice but to lay off police and fire personnel. The math is simple. Nearly three-fourths of the city's general-fund budget goes for police and fire services.</blockquote>Now, if the <i>Dispatch</i> has the stones to go after John Kasich's "misinformation and demagoguery" for not providing a plan for the spending cuts necessary to eliminate Ohio's income tax, then I'll be ready to drop the (R-Columbus) monkier that David and I bestowed upon the <i>Dispatch</i> in the wake of their endorsement of John McCain last year.<br /><div><br /></div><div>However, I'm not holding my breath for the <i>Dispatch</i> to have that much integrity.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-58657250761673616822009-06-01T23:52:00.003-04:002009-06-02T00:16:54.690-04:00Good Riddance, GM. Long Live the "new" GM.Today, in an event that has been <a href="http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/03/gms-problems-are-50-years-in-making.html">50 years in the making</a>, General Motors <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31030038/">filed for bankruptcy protection</a>. <div><br /></div><div>There is one feeling that is overwhelming me right now: Good Riddance. </div><div><br /></div><div>Good Riddance to the GM that invented the idea of planned obselecence. This was the absurd notion that a great way to make money on building cars, was to make crappy cars that fell apart in 3 years, thus forcing your customers to buy new ones. This decision haunts the Detroit Three to this day, because even as they have now caught up to Asian automakers in the quality of their cars, their <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">perceived</span> quality is still lower.</div><div><br /></div><div>Good Riddance to the GM that conspired, along with the oil companies and the tire makers, to buy up and eliminate America's rail-based street car lines, in favor of busses which would sit in traffic with cars and thus drive people into their own cars. These street car lines - essentially light rail lines of the day -- existed in every major Ohio city before 1950, and would be worth hundreds of billions of dollars if they still existed today. </div><div><br /></div><div>Good Riddance to the GM that decided to pay its workers less now in exchange for hugely expensive pension and health care benefits in the future simply because those future obligations did not need to be listed on its balance sheet until an accounting rule change in the early 1990s. This short term gain for long term pain has put GM in the difficult position it is in now because those benefits now amount to as much as $1500 per car in expenses, expenses that its competitors need not pay and instead plow into R&D which allows them to build superior cars.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's hoping the new GM will be a much better car company. Here's hoping the new GM finally abandons the 1960s-era pushrod technology of its engines for the smaller more fuel-efficent engines its competitors adopted long ago. Here's hoping the new GM can build excellent small cars that not only can compete with the Honda Civics and Toyota Corollas out there, but also be profitable, too. Here's hoping the new GM will build plug in hybrids that will reduce our oil consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.</div><div><br /></div><div>But for right now, to the old GM, I can only say, "Good riddance."</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-40325304868446981032009-05-30T23:59:00.001-04:002009-05-30T23:59:50.692-04:00Mood Music For Cavs Collapse Tonight<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre;"><object height="340" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dff57w4OYDY&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dff57w4OYDY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-27266499680990143902009-05-28T20:30:00.001-04:002009-05-28T20:31:06.776-04:00OH-Sen: Rob Portman Admits GOP Has No Ideas on Health CareHonestly, I give him credit for coming right out and saying what we all knew. But only a little bit. ( <a href="http://www.buckeyestateblog.com/portman_on_healthcare_gop_has_no_plan">H/T David @ BSB )</a><br /><br /><a href="http://theplumline.whorunsgov.com/senate-republicans/republican-senate-candidate-admits-gop-has-no-position-on-health-care/">From National Journal:</a><br /><blockquote>Republicans have also taken some heat nationally for not focusing on health care in their campaigns in recent years, but Portman already has been speaking on the issue frequently.<br /><br />“We have to have an alternative. … I will tell you, I don’t think there is a Republican alternative at this point,” he said. He said he reached that conclusion after talking to Senate leaders and lawmakers about the GOP’s position. “There isn’t one,” he said. “There’s a task force, and I applaud them for that.”</blockquote>Actually, I take that back. A task force? That's a code word for keeping the status quo in place. And the status quo isn't acceptable anymore. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-12326068659949862072009-05-28T11:03:00.003-04:002009-05-28T11:06:19.114-04:00Ohio's Worst Kept Secret Now Official: Mandel in for TreasurerYawn. This has <a href="http://www.joshmandel.com/page/welcome-to-my-blog">been public knowledge for months</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>It's a very exciting time right now. I'm happy to be kicking off my State Treasurer campaign.<br /><br />I am running for State Treasurer in 2010 for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to bring new energy, fresh ideas, and the next generation of leadership to state government.<br /><br />To prepare for this decision, I put more than 30,000 miles on my car over the past few months, driving to every corner of our state to speak with people from all walks of life. I heard their frustration that while our economy is hurting and families are tightening their belts, government is spending like there is no tomorrow. They said that to change the direction of our state, we need new leaders who believe in good old-fashioned values like honesty, hard work and fiscal responsibility.</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-44472094800490173652009-05-28T10:48:00.000-04:002009-05-28T10:48:27.262-04:00Will Bondholder Deal Keep GM From Bankruptcy?I'm not sure that it will, but even if GM does enter bankruptcy, <a href="http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/gm-reaches-a-deal-with-bondholder-committee/">having this agreement in place</a> with the bond holders would make that bankruptcy shorter and less risky:<br />
<blockquote><strong>General Motors</strong> said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that it has proposed a new deal to a committee representing many of its largest bondholders, offering an equity stake of as much as 25 percent in the restructured automaker if bondholders don’t oppose G.M.’s reorganization plan.<br />
The filing also fills out many of the details of that plan, crafted under the eye of the Treasury Department, which would be G.M.’s majority owner once it emerged from bankruptcy protection with a 72.5 percent stake.<br />
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A committee representing about 20 percent of G.M.’s bonds said in a statement that they are supporting the new proposal.<br />
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“The ad hoc committee of G.M. bondholders supports the revised offer from GM and believes that when contrasted with the alternative – uncertain and costly bankruptcy court litigation – that it represents the best alternative for bondholders in the current difficult and dire situation,” the group said in a statement.</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-31456549483261086022009-05-26T10:46:00.000-04:002009-05-26T10:46:05.118-04:00GOPers In Such A Hurry To Attack Obama's SCOTUS Nominee That They Can't Be Bothered To Learn Her NameWell, that didn't take long.<br />
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Former Arkansas Gov. and presumed 2012 GOP Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee already has a statement out criticizing President Obama's Supreme Court nominee. There's just one problem.<br />
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President Obama's nominee is 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals Justice <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonia_Sotomayor">Sonia Sotomayor</a>. Huckabee's statement criticizes someone named <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0509/Huck_comes_out_firing__at_Maria_Sotomayor.html">Maria Sotomayor</a> .<br />
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So, Huck-meister, is it that you can't be bothered to learn the name of our next Supreme Court justice before cutting her off at the knees? Or, are you playing to stereotypes that all Latino women are named "Maria"?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-69054425925884725772009-05-25T23:46:00.004-04:002009-05-26T00:05:42.457-04:00Thoughts on "Decoration Day"If you have ever driven west from downtown Cleveland along the shore of Lake Erie, you might have taken the West <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Shoreway</span> to Clifton Boulevard to Lake Road out to Bay Village. If you did that, you would have followed a portion of U.S. Route 6. <div><br /></div><div>U.S. Route 6 is known as the <a href="http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/us6.cfm">Grand Army of the Republic Highway</a> for its entire length from <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Massachusetts</span> to California, obviously including the portion I described above. The Grand Army of the Republic, in turn, was a now-defunct fraternal organization for Union veterans of the Civil War. And it was this organization that began the tradition of setting aside one day in late May to remember our nation's war dead.</div><div><br /></div><div>As it was originally conceived, "Decoration Day" was supposed to be always on May 30<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">th</span>, not on the last Monday in May. The full text of the GAR Order that was issued calling for the establishment of Decoration Day <a href="http://www.usmemorialday.org/order11.html">is available here</a>. It calls for GAR members to decorate "with the choicest flowers of spring-time" the graves of Union <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">soldiers</span> who died in the Civil War. </div><div><br /></div><div>It was not until after World War II that the holiday became more commonly known as Memorial Day. And it was not until Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act (Public Law 90-363) that Memorial Day was moved from May 30<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">th</span> to the current last Monday in May. In fact, <a href="http://www.thepetitionsite.com/6/restore-the-traditional-day-of-observance-for-memorial-day">there is a movement underway by veterans' groups</a> to return Memorial Day to its traditional May 30<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">th</span> observance. That link will take you to an online petition calling for passage of a bill restoring Memorial Day to May 30<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">th</span>, which if you click it you'll see lots of signatures from today. Which proves, I guess, that politics never takes a rest. </div><div><br /></div><div>On whatever day it is observed, Memorial Day is a day reserved for honoring our veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of this country and the freedom we all enjoy. Thanks for your service, vets. And I hope everyone had a nice holiday. Tomorrow, it's back to work. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-39382271610908482262009-05-22T15:26:00.000-04:002009-05-22T15:26:01.630-04:00United #615 Makes Emergency Landing In Pittsburgh; Plane Was Carrying Sen. Roland BurrisUnited Airlines Flight 615, an Airbus A319 flying from Washington National (DCA) to Chicago O'Hare (ORD) made an emergency landing this afternoon at Pittsburgh Int'l (PIT) after the plane experienced a problem with its hydraulic system. <a href="http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/allegheny/19540517/detail.html">According to ThePittsburghChannel.com</a> , the plane was carrying Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL).<br />
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United remains the only major airline in the United States that does not have any new airplanes on order with any major airplane manufacturers.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-9765694026463484062009-05-22T12:18:00.001-04:002009-05-22T12:20:18.096-04:00Rust Belt Is Already Benefiting From Green JobsAs <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/21/news/economy/midwest_renewables/index.htm">this CNNMoney.com article</a> makes clear. My favorite quote?<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; "></p><blockquote><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; ">Scores of<b> </b>firms in the renewable energy business have recently opened in the Rust Belt states. They hope to take advantage of a population known for its industrial skills, engineering ability and work ethic.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; ">It's hard to say how many people these firms currently employ. The government doesn't yet track green jobs and the distinction between what's "green" and what isn't often gets blurred.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; ">One study by the University of California, Berkeley estimated that green energy companies employ at least half a million people. That number could climb to 2 to 4 million over the next 15 years if the nation got 15%-20% of its power from renewable sources.</p></blockquote><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; "></p></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-10538277480838934492009-05-21T12:04:00.002-04:002009-05-27T13:30:44.541-04:00I Support Marilyn Brown for Ohio Secretary of State<div>I have not been able to pin down whether or not Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason is going to take the plunge and run for Secretary of State. Some people say yes, some say no. It really doesn't matter to me, because Franklin County Commissioner Marilyn Brown has my support no matter what.</div><div><div></div><div>I have known Marilyn Brown and her husband Eric for six years, dating back to Howard Dean meetups at the now-closed Scottie MacBean's Cafe in Columbus' Clintonville neighborhood. In 2004, Eric Brown was elected to a seat on the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. In 2006, Marilyn Brown took on the challenge of unseating the last GOPer on the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, defeating three term incumbent Dewey Stokes by 5 points. During that time, I vividly remember her husband attending campaign events with a nametag that identified himself not as "Judge Eric Brown" but as "Mr. Marilyn Brown"<br /><br /> Since then, Marilyn has helped the County maintain its best possible AAA bond rating, a testament to the county's sound financial management practices. She helped oversee the construction of the new Huntington Park baseball stadium, which was on time, on budget, and built without a dime of taxpayer money. All the while, Marilyn and the rest of the Board took fire from the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Dispatch</span> (R-Columbus) for sticking to labor practice policies that were pro-labor, but that the paper conveniently forgot were enacted by her GOP predecessors. In 2008, she was elected President of the Board of Commissioners. Also in 2008, Marilyn's husband Eric was elected to become the first ever Democrat on the Franklin County Probate Court.<br /><br />So, the Browns have a collective 3-for-3 track record in elections in Franklin County. Marilyn is now taking on the challenge of holding the Secretary of State seat for the Democratic Party. While it won't be easy to defeat "Slick Jonny" Husted, Marilyn will have my full support in her campaign. Go get 'em Marilyn!</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15025768.post-8809508481053899542009-05-19T10:22:00.000-04:002009-05-19T10:22:04.069-04:00PD: Fisher, Haseley Knew of Barbash's Tax ProblemsMark Naymik of the Plain Dealer <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2009/05/from_north_to_south_ohio_democ.html">is reporting the following this morning</a> :<br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Strickland's administration also delivered a negative communication last week. That's when it acknowledged that the nobody told the governor that state's top development officer, Mark Barbash, had tax troubles before his promotion in February to the Cabinet-level post.</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Barbash resigned Friday after a media report revealed he owed the Internal Revenue Service more than $146,000.<br />
</span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher knew of Barbash's problem, as did the governor's chief of staff, John Haseley. Yet, neither said anything to Strickland, who found out only when Barbash told the administration he had received a foreclosure notice on his home.</span><br />
</blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The situation sends a couple of possible messages, neither of them good.</span><br />
</blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">One, the governor's staff keeps him out of the loop. Or, two, the governor doesn't pay attention to his own vetting process.</span></blockquote>So, Lee Fisher and John Haseley knew of Barbash's tax problems and yet failed to tell the Guv?<br />
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Shame on them.<br />
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Governor Strickland is in the midst of a tough budget cycle and is looking at a no-gimme re-election campaign next year. These two should know better than to make his life more difficult than it already is.<br />
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As for Mark Barbash, fear not! You may owe $146,000 to the IRS, but Akron mayoral recall instigator Warner Mendenhall has you topped! He owes $196,000. So, Mark, you may not be fit to be director of Development, but you can feel free to start a petition drive to recall your local mayor. And, you can whine about it if your mayor's supporters try to point out your tax lien as a reason not to support your recall efforts too, just like Mendenhall has.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1