Thurber's Thoughts

Government steps up Jeep Liberty airbag probe

2012-01-30T16:24:00.003-05:00

This came to my attention because I have a Jeep Liberty Sport. It's from NPR:

DETROIT (AP) — Federal safety regulators have stepped up their investigation into the Jeep Liberty SUV after 50 people reported they were hurt when the air bags inflated even though the vehicle wasn't involved in a crash.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration started investigating Liberty SUVs made by Chrysler Group LLC from the 2002 and 2003 model years in September. The investigation was upgraded to a full engineering analysis last week.

Documents on the agency website say Chrysler and regulators have gotten 87 complaints of air bags going off by surprise. Nearly 387,000 vehicles are under investigation.

Drivers reported burns, cuts and bruises. No deaths have occurred.

Forty-two of the incidents involved the driver's front air bag, with the remaining 45 cases involving both the driver and front passenger air bags, the documents said. The incidents occurred as the vehicle was being started and while it was being driven. The agency said some of the Liberty owners reported that the air bag warning light illuminated just before the air bags were inflated. But others reported that they didn't see any warning light.

NHTSA said in the documents that Chrysler inspected the air bag control computer chip and found that it fails due to a possible electrical voltage spike.

The company says no incidents have happened in vehicles made after March 19, 2003. But regulators say Chrysler can't explain that, so they are starting an engineering analysis.

Toledo CIP - source of all for everything - is running dry

2012-01-30T14:32:00.006-05:00

In his State of the City address today at the Toledo Rotary (viewable here), Mayor Mike Bell said he wants to restructure the Capital Improvement Plan funds in order to borrow $28 million for street paving in 2012 and 2013.

The problem is that Toledo City Council has decimated the CIP fund over the past several years in order to cover general fund - or every day - expenses. This has left us with virtually nothing in the CIP to cover the necessary CIP expenses like road repair.

Council transferred funds because they just couldn't find anywhere to cut, despite funding things like Easter Egg hunts, hip hop concerts, arts projects and a host of other unnecessary (though desirable by some) items. In fact, tomorrow they will vote on transferring another million because revenue they expected from the new casino isn't yet coming in due to a delay in the casino opening.

Despite warnings that routinely relying upon the CIP to balance the general fund would lead to shortages in the long-term, council continued to do so.

Now we are faced with borrow $28 million to cover our necessary expenses because there's nothing left. Interestingly, this will be the highest amount of debt issued since 1998 - more than twice the $13.5 million that was issued in 2003.

Toledo transferred out $7 million in 2011 to cover the 2010 budget deficit. They depleted their rainy day fun years ago. I believe the last time I added it up, it was around $50 million that had been taken out of the CIP and transferred into the general fund to cover every day expenses.

If council had just lived within its means and not transferred the money out of the CIP, we wouldn't have to borrow anything in 2012-13 to pay for road repaving.

But since Toledo voters approved letting council raid the CIP, there is no incentive for them to not do so. They spend the money knowing they can just raid the CIP to cover their pet projects and special programs, expecting to let future councils deal with the consequences.

Fortunately, the 3/4% payroll income tax will be on the ballot this year and Toledoans will have a chance to tell council "NO!"

Ohio 39th in State Business Tax Climate Index, worse than neighboring states

2012-01-30T12:09:00.003-05:00

The Tax Foundation has released its 2012 State Business Tax Climate Index and Ohio finds itself still in the bottom at 39th in the nation, unchanged from last year.

The 10 best states are:

1. Wyoming
2. South Dakota
3. Nevada
4. Alaska
5. Florida
6. New Hampshire
7. Washington
8. Montana
9. Texas
10. Utah

They earn these positions primarily because they don't impose some or several of the taxes calculated.

The 10 worse states are:

41. Iowa

42. Maryland
43. Wisconsin
44. North Carolina
45. Minnesota
46. Rhode Island
47. Vermont
48. California
49. New York
50. New Jersey

Ohio ranked:

* 22 in corporate tax rate

* 42 in individual income tax

* 29 in sales tax

* 10 in unemployment insurance tax

* 33 in property tax.

Michigan, our neighbor to the north, ranked 18, up from 19 in 2011. While their corporate tax rank is 49 (the second worse in the nation) and their unemployment insurance tax rank is 44, they rank 11 in individual income tax, 7 in sales tax
and 30 in property tax, moving them ahead of Ohio in the overall rankings.

Indiana, which is expected to be a right-to-work state upon the governor's signature of recently-passed legislation, is ranked 11, also unchanged from 2011. Pennsylvania is 19, up from 21 in 2011 and Kentucky is 27, up from a 25 rank last year.

Sadly, all our neighbors rank better than we do in business taxation and they are our competition for jobs.

For more information on the rankings and methodology, you can read the entire report here.

2012 Toledo State of the City address

2012-01-30T10:52:00.002-05:00

Reminder:

Mayor Mike Bell will deliver the 2012 State of the City address at the Toledo Rotary Club meeting at noon. If you'd like to view the State of the City, you can watch it live (and later as a recorded broadcast) at knowledgestream.org. His speech will begin immediately after the abbreviated Rotary meeting at approximately 12:15 p.m. and is expected to last 30 minutes.

Toledo City Council: liar, liar, pants on fire

2012-01-30T08:26:00.006-05:00

Tomorrow Toledo City Council is scheduled to vote on adding 11 red light cameras in order to - hopefully - generate $320,000 to fund recreational programs. From all the news reports and comments, it appears that the measure will pass. After all, 'if it saves just one life' ...

For a decade, Toledo administrators and elected officials have told us the cameras are there for our safety. On June 22, 2009, as the city was discussing the fact that the camera revenue was not as projected, Police Chief Mike Navarre was on the record emphasizing safety over money.

Toledo Police Chief Mike Navarre said money is absolutely not the reason for the cameras.

"I believe in the red-light camera[s] and they have been proven just by the very fact there is a drop in violations at the intersections where they are installed," Chief Navarre said. "If less people are going through red lights, there are going to be less accidents."

In 2007, as the city supported an increase in the red light camera fines, safety was, again, the focus:

From Chief Navarre:The additional revenue would make a major dent in the potential $10 million deficit next year, but the chief said that was not the intent.

"The job of the police department is to do enforcement and reduce accidents," Chief Navarre said. "If we increase revenue while we do that, that is a fortunate byproduct. It is certainly not our objective."

From Councilman Rob Ludeman: "What sold me was not so much the revenue source but making the intersections safer."

In 2009, as a group was gathering signatures to put the red light camera issue on the ballot, Chief Navarre again emphasized that revenue was merely a "by-product."

While the cameras do produce revenue for the city, Chief Navarre said that is not their sole purpose.

He said every camera throughout the city has shown a steady decline in violations since they were installed.

"That means less people are running red lights and I think it's logical and sensible to conclude there will be less accidents," he said. "The fact that revenue is generated is a fortunate by-product."

And then there's Councilman Tom Waniewski, who in 2008 said:

Councilman Tom Waniewski asked if the Finkbeiner administration would consider installing flashing yellow lights in advance of red lights to warn motorists.

"I'm concerned that a lot of times now, particularly now with increased air patrol, which is intended to be a revenue generator, that we're becoming a gotcha city," Mr. Waniewski said.

But today, Waniewski has accepted the idea of being a "gotcha city":

“If it will keep accidents down, then fantastic. I think we’ve probably come to accept the cameras as part of our landscape,” councilman Tom Waniewski said.

"...we've come to accept" the cameras? Wow - what a testament to Toledoans and their willingness to have their liberties infringed. And what a comment for a Republican councilman.

I guess we should be grateful that, at least now, they're all admitting it's just for the money. Finally we see their previous claims of safety for the lies they were.

But that's not all, folks - they're actually bragging about that fact and how this is a great solution to their budget problems. Heaven forbid that they actually try to live within their revenue rather than just create new taxes, fees and fines to continue spending beyond their means!

The worst part of this is how they came up with the new locations. According to today's paper, the intersections were selected based upon where red light running is "likely" to occur.

Finance Director Patrick McLean said the city selected the new intersections with the help of the Arizona-based company American Traffic Solutions.

The firm used a computer program to analyze traffic volumes and patterns across Toledo to determine intersections at which red light violations are most likely to occur, he said.

So we're not looking at accidents caused by running a red light. We're not looking at the number of violations of running a red light. We're letting some Arizona company predict where their computer program says it's "most likely" to have revenue. And that's where we're installing them.

Here's the thing that most frustrates me: if we have intersections where red light running is "likely," why haven't we modified those intersections to address that likelihood and thus make our intersections .... wait for it .... SAFER?!?

Here is the list of intersections:

• The southbound and northbound lanes of Secor Road at West Alexis Road, a congested intersection near Whitmer High School
• The northbound and southbound lanes of the Anthony Wayne Trail at Glendale Avenue southwest of the Toledo Zoo
• The eastbound and westbound lanes of West Bancroft Street at North Reynolds Road
• The eastbound and northbound lanes at Heatherdowns Boulevard at South Byrne Road
• Northbound North Detroit Avenue at Dorr Street
• Northbound Talmadge Road at Monroe Street, close to Westfield Franklin Park mall
• Southbound Collingwood Boulevard at Dorr Street

If Toledo city council members vote yes on this plan, it makes them all liars. They cannot stand by prior comments that the cameras are all about safety and then turn around and use them to fund the recreation department.

Call or email your city council members and tell them to vote no on using red light cameras sto fund the recreation department. Here is their contact information:

Toledo City Council phone number: 419-245-1050

D. Michael Collins: dmichael.collins@toledo.oh.gov

Phil Copeland: phillip.copeland@toledo.oh.gov

Mike Craig: mike.craig@toledo.oh.gov

Paula Hicks-Hudson: Paula.Hicks-Hudson@toledo.oh.gov

Rob Ludeman: rob.ludeman@toledo.oh.gov

Adam Martinez: adam.martinez@toledo.oh.gov

Joe McNamara: joe.mcnamara@toledo.oh.gov

Tyrone Riley: tyrone.riley@toledo.oh.gov

George Sarantou: george.sarantou@toledo.oh.gov

Steven Steel: steven.steel@toledo.oh.gov

Tom Waniewski: tom.waniewski@toledo.oh.gov

Lindsay Webb: lindsay.webb@toledo.oh.gov

Quote of the Day - government partiality

2012-01-30T08:16:00.001-05:00

"History affords us many instances of the ruin of states, by the prosecution of measures ill suited to the temper and genius of their people. The ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation, to the prejudice and oppression of another, is certainly the most erroneous and mistaken policy. An equal dispensation of protection, rights, privileges, and advantages, is what every part is entitled to, and ought to enjoy... These measures never fail to create great and violent jealousies and animosities between the people favored and the people oppressed; whence a total separation of affections, interests, political obligations, and all manner of connections, by which the whole state is weakened." ~ Benjamin Franklin

Quote of the Day - legal vs. moral

2012-01-28T09:27:00.002-05:00

A quote for you to ponder as I participate in family celebrations today. As today ends National School Choice Week, I'm going to do a round-up of various school choice articles I came across and will post it tomorrow.

"Can we assume that a thing is right if it is legal? But slavery was once legal; Nazism was legal. Well, can we assume a thing is right if it is endorsed by majority rule? But a lynch mob is majority rule. Is a thing sure to be right, then, if it comes about through the democratic process? But fascist dictator Juan Perón of Argentina was democratically elected by majority rule on two occasions. . . . Well, how about the Constitution? But again we run into difficulties, for the Constitution can be amended to say anything the society wishes it to say. Suppose, for example, the Constitution were amended to permit the lynching of blacks—would this practice become ethically correct merely because the Constitution permitted it? The moral basis of capitalism is the right of each individual to live his own life, for his own sake." ~ R.W. Grant

NLRB makes providing jobs more difficult

2012-01-27T11:54:00.006-05:00

This morning I attending one in a series of Workplace Regulation Seminars sponsored by the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce. James Yates, of Eastman and Smith, was the presenter with an overview of recent National Labor Relations Board actions and their impact on employers and the workplace.

The session, New Year - New NLRB Rules on Social Media and Union Organizing, was eye-opening. I've followed the shenanigans going on at the NLRB with claimed recess appointments as well as the U.S. Chamber's opposition to those appointments. But since I don't have employees, I've not paid as much attention to the various rules and regulations. Today's session brought me up to speed - and it's pretty scary. Let's just say that the NLRB is making it more difficult to provide the jobs so desparately needed in today's economy.

One of the most important facts I learned today is that the NLRB, unlike federal agencies and departments, is just a board. The name should have been a clue, but understanding the difference is critical.

Like the U.S. Supreme Court, this board has no authority under law to create regulations or rules. They speak, as does SCOTUS, through their decisions on cases brought before them. While their decisions become 'case law,' providing guidance to others in similar circumstances, they cannot create something new to impose upon Americans.

That, however, hasn't stopped them.

One of the negative aspects of a board that is packed with leftists is that they refuse to accept the limits on their authority - choosing, instead, to exercise rule making and hoping it will stand.

A case in point is their dictate that employers display a new Employee Rights Poster. This was originally supposed to be required last year, but thanks to a lawsuit the implementation date has been pushed back several times and is now April 30, 2012. Oh - and if you have employees who speak anything other than English, you must display the poster in one of the 24 languages whose translation they've provided.

Not surprisingly, industry groups sued over the rule. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and the National Federation of Independent Business are all trying to block the implementation.

Included among the points they make in the lawsuit, Yates explained, are these:

* Nowhere does the National Labor Relations Act give the board the authority to coerce employers to post such notifications;

* The rule arbitrarily and capriciously excludes from the mandatory notice a description of an employee's fundamental right to be free from compulsory union membership or dues; and

* It violates federal law by failing to property assess the significant economic impact the rule would have on small businesses.

Additionally, as many comments on the proposed rule pointed out, there has been nothing - no study, or finding, or collection of data - that indicates a need for the regulations. So why impose a costly mandate, one for which you really have no authority, when there is no demonstrated need to let employees know they can form a union?

Good question. But since the NLRB doesn't care about their lack of authority to mandate a new regulation, what makes anyone think they're going to worry about a need for such a mandate?

Yates provided overviews of some of the other NLRB actions, including the complaint against Boeing to block the opening of their production facility in South Carolina. That a supposedly impartial NLRB was used as a negotiation tool to intimidate (through government threat of law) Boeing is clear to just about anyone who bothers to learn about the issue. The problem, though, is that the complaint was dropped as soon as the union got their way. What are the implications for employers who find themselves in similar circumstances? Unfortunately, since the NLRB didn't rule, I expect we will see similar strong-arm tactics from unions in the future. After all, with a board dominated by union people, it's not likely that they will prevent the NLRB from being used to coerce employers into agreeing to union negotiation demands.

So much for an unbiased, impartial board who is supposed to ensure all sides are following the National Labor Relations Act.

Some other interesting rulings Yates informed us of:

* The 'rat' case. Yes, a large, inflatable rat displayed outside a secondary employer is not the same as picketing and is allowed, as this Daily Caller article and source of the below photo explains.

Current law says that unions cannot picket a secondary employer - in this case, a hospital that was using a contractor with whom the union had a beef. But, with the NLRB ruling that such displays are not 'picketing,' unions are now free to place large, ominous rats right at the doors of your company.

As Yates explained, the ruling decided that this large, ugly, scary, toothy, evil-looking creature in a blow-up format is not frightening to families, children and patients at the hospital and that its presence would have no effect on the visitors to the hospital.

But, I wondered, if there was no effect on the people going into or coming out of the hospital, why display the rat at all? What would its purpose be if it had no effect?!?

Apparently, that's a bit of logic beyond the comprehension of the NLRB.

Yates also detailed some rulings regarding social media that employers need to be aware of - especially because they will require changes to employer policies. Additionally, these rulings impact most all employers, even those without a union in their company.

The current standard for allowable - as in not able to fire over - speech is that it must be protected (relating to employment, working conditions, wages, etc...) and it must be concerted (meaning not just related solely to the person making the comments, but related to one or more employees in the same class).

So if, for instance, an employee gets on TV and, as part of an interview over a strike or walk-out, relates lies about his employer's failure to comply with regulations having nothing to do with employment, that's okay. You, as the employer, cannot fire the individual who just told lies about non-existent illegal activity at your company because he was doing it as part of his protected and concerted actions. Never mind that most people won't know it's a lie or that your company's reputation has just been, perhaps irreparably, harmed. You can't do anything about it, so long as the employee really didn't have 'actual malice' in mind when making the comments. As anyone who's ever been slandered or libeled can tell you, proving 'actual malice' is nearly impossible.

But it gets worse, as Labor and Employment Law Update explains:

In this case the NLRB majority agreed that Parexel International did not terminate the employment of Theresa Neuschafer for protected concerted activities under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). (Section 7 of the NLRA expressly prohibits an employer from retaliating against an employee for engaging in protected concerted activities.)

Generally, employees have received protection under the NLRA when they were retaliated against for internally criticizing a term or condition of their employment to their coworkers or a member of management.

The employee in this case was found to have discussed alleged pay raises and purported preferential treatment towards South Africans by the management of Parexel, Int’l (Neuschafer was not South African). The NLRB concluded that the company wanted to prevent Neuschafer from engaging in such discussions with her coworkers in the future. Such action, according to the NLRB’s majority, served as an unlawful preemptive strike against protected concerted activity.

The NLRB reasoned that because an employer violates the NLRA by threatening to terminate an employee in order to prevent her from exercising Section 7 rights, it follows that an employer similarly violates the law by terminating the employee in order to be certain that she does not exercise her rights in the future. In so finding, the NLRB majority expanded the theories on which the agency may hold employers liable, stating that an employer violates the NLRA when it fires an employee “to be certain that she does not exercise her Section 7 rights.”

Even though the employee had not engaged in protected and concerted activity, she might decide to do so in the future and, if she had done so, the company would have been prevented from firing her.

So, because she might, sometime, in the future, maybe, engage in some activity that would be protected, she can't be fired now for her non-protected comments.

How's THAT for certainty in the workplace!

I guess the lesson the NLRB wants employees to know is that as long as they couch their defamatory, negative, harmful, disparaging, disloyal, derogatory comments in sentences about the terms and conditions of their employment, they will win any wrongful termination complaints when they get fired for doing so.

Other things of note from Yates' presentation:

* The NLRB is likely to find that small units are 'appropriate.' In the past, the NLRB had held to the position that fragmentation within a single employer doesn't help collective bargaining - it undermines it. Many fights over unionization deal with the composition of the 'appropriate' unit. For instance, if you have a manufacturing facility with 50 plant employees (no supervisors), it's likely that the 'appropriate' composition of the potential union group is all 50 employees. Past practice would say that the 10 people in the warehouse or the five people in shipping are not part of two separate units.

However, with private sector union membership in such decline, the NLRB is looking for ways to help unions, so determining that 10 warehouse workers can be their own bargaining unit is one way to do so. The unions get their foot in the door; they don't have to convince all employees - just a small number of them - to join; and the battles begin.

And just to make it more difficult, employers now have to show "overwhelming" support against the smaller unit in order to prevent such action.

* 'Liking' a Facebook post of a fellow employee who comments about terms and conditions of employment on their wall may be enough to constitute the 'concerted' standard.

* Personnel policies will probably have to be revised, Yates advised, to reflect these changes:

- You can no longer prohibit disparagement of the company, unless you expressly exempt online discussions that are permissible under Sect. 7 of the NLRA (protected and concerted).

- Policies that prohibit the use of your company's name, logo or service marks outside of the normal course of business without prior permission are unlawful.

- Policies prohibiting representations about the company, including comments to the media, without prior approval of the company are unlawful.

- Broad prohibitions against disclosing confidential, sensitive or non-public information are unlawful, though prohibiting disclosure of proprietary or legally confidential information (like health data) is still allowed to be part of your policy.

- You can't even require that social networking communications be 'professional' or 'appropriate.'

- And you cannot require employees to expressly state that their comments are their own personal opinions and not those of their employer.

- Comments or posts that would violate policies against harassment or hostility in the workplace on account of protected classes are ones that employers can still restrict.

- Dissemination of product launch or release dates, including pending reorganizations, mergers or acquisitions can still be prohibited in your policies.

These are just the NLRB and social networking issues employers have to be aware of. Add to them all the OSHA, EEOC, FMLA and ADA requirements and you've only just begun. There are rules and regulations from the Federal EPA, the State EPA; licenses and permits; Workers' Comp and unemployment; health insurance, pension and benefits laws; and you've not even gotten to the actual production of the service or product you're trying to sell.

Given just these, and there are myriads more, what individual in their right mind would want to start a business today? Or stay in business when you have these sorts of headaches to deal with?

It boggles the mind - and most people making the rules (or trying to make rules when they have no authority to do so) have no clue what their 'little provision' means in the real world to the people trying to provide jobs for their neighbors and communities.

***Side Note: Eastman & Smith will host a day-long seminar, A Proactive Approach to Labor and Employment Law Issues, on Feb. 7 from 9-3 at the Grand Plaza Hotel. Registration begins at 8:30 and there is a $10 fee for registration and lunch. Further information is available here.

Gorver Norquist to headline 5th Congressional District Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner

2012-01-27T10:36:00.002-05:00

Press Release:

Anti-Tax Crusader Grover Norquist to Headline 5th Congressional District Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner

BOWLING GREEN - Congressman Bob Latta welcomes Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) as the featured speaker at his 2012 Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner scheduled for Saturday, March 3, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at Bowling Green State University’s Lenhart Grand Ballroom in Bowen-Thompson Student Union located off Thurstin Street in Bowling Green.

Tickets are $25 per person. To purchase tickets, contact a county Republican Party chairperson.

Mr. Norquist is president of ATR a taxpayer advocacy group he founded in 1985 at President Reagan’s request. ATR is a coalition of taxpayer groups, individuals and businesses opposed to higher taxes at the federal, state and local levels.

All 2012 Republican Presidential candidates are invited.

For more information, visit www.lattaforcongress.com.

Quote of the Day - Keystone Pipeline

2012-01-27T05:14:00.001-05:00

This quote from Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) is courtesy of CNSNews:

"Well, we fought and won World War II in less time than it’s taken so far to evaluate this project. I mean, with all due respect, it is an insult to the American people to say that you need more time.

There are 10 other agencies that have reviewed this project and – correct me if I’m wrong, but my understanding is that the Corps of Engineers approved it, the Department of Agriculture approved it, the Department of Interior approved it, the Department of Transportation approved it, the Environmental Protection Agency – believe it or not – approved it, the Defense Department approved it; the Justice Department approved it, the Homeland Security Department approved it and the Department of Commerce approved it. Only the State Department, which I believe, by law is required to look at the International implications since its trans-Canada -- only the State Department did not approve it.”

I did not know, and I'll bet the majority of Americans do not know, that all these other agencies - including the EPA - have approved the pipeline.

Do you think the lame street media would want that fact shared with us?

FirstEnergy closing 6 plants due to new EPA rules

2012-01-26T10:07:00.003-05:00

Just great - not! President Barack Obama said he wanted to bankrupt the coal industry and now, as a result of his new EPA standards, we're losing jobs and electricity sources in Ohio.

FirstEnergy today announced the closing of six coal-fired plants, including our plant here in Oregon, Ohio, and three others in our state. We already have some of the highest electricity rates in the state. How much will our rates go up without this local plant?

And what about the employees??? More than 500 employees will be out of work, though some may relocate to other plants or take early retirement. And then there are the ancillary jobs and economic benefits that will decrease, including transportation, office and manufacturing suppliers, etc...

So much for a President who said his number one priority was jobs.

Here is the FirstEnergy press release:

FirstEnergy, Citing Impact of Environmental Regulations, Will Require Six Coal-Fired Plants

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) announced today that its generation subsidiaries will retire six older coal-fired power plants located in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland by September 1, 2012. The decision to close the plants is based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), which were recently finalized, and other environmental regulations.

The total capacity of the competitive plants that will be retired is 2,689 megawatts (MW). Recently, these plants served mostly as peaking or intermediate facilities, generating, on average, approximately 10 percent of the electricity produced by the company over the past three years.

The following plants will be retired: Bay Shore Plant, Units 2-4, Oregon, Ohio; Eastlake Plant, Eastlake, Ohio; Ashtabula Plant, Ashtabula, Ohio; Lake Shore Plant, Cleveland, Ohio; Armstrong Power Station, Adrian, Pa.; and R. Paul Smith Power Station, Williamsport, Md.

In total, 529 employees will be directly affected. Existing severance benefits will apply to eligible, affected employees. However, the final number of affected employees could be less as some are considered for open positions at other FirstEnergy facilities and work locations, and eligible employees take advantage of a retirement benefit being offered to those 55 years and older.

"This decision is not in any way a reflection of the fine work done by the employees at the affected plants, but is related to the impact of new environmental rules," said James H. Lash, president, FirstEnergy Generation and chief nuclear officer. "We recently completed a comprehensive review of our coal-fired generating plants and determined that additional investments to implement MATS and other environmental rules would make these older plants even less likely to be dispatched under market rules. As a result, it was necessary to retire the plants rather than continue operations."

The plant retirements are subject to review for reliability impacts, if any, by PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission organization that controls the area where they are located.

FirstEnergy is finalizing MATS compliance plans for its remaining coal-fired units. Since the Clean Air Act became law in 1970, FirstEnergy and its predecessor companies have invested more than $10 billion in environmental protection efforts.

Since 1990, FirstEnergy has reduced emissions of nitrogen oxides by more than 76 percent, sulfer dioxide by more than 86 percent and mercury by about 56 percent. When the six coal-fired plants are removed from FirstEnergy's competitive generating fleet, more than 96 percent of the power provided will come from resources that are non- or low-emitting, including nuclear, hydro, pumped-storage hydro, natural gas and scrubbed coal units.

FirstEnergy is a diversified energy company dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies comprise the nation's largest investor-owned electric system. Its diverse generating fleet features non-emitting nuclear, scrubbed coal, natural gas, and pumped-storage hydro and other renewables, and has a total generating capacity of nearly 23,000 megawatts.

TARTA excuses don't ring true, Gee still to blame

2012-01-26T09:44:00.005-05:00

By now, most people are aware that the Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority, TARTA, has "unauditable" books for 2010. I've called for all the politically appointed board members to be replaced (except the new Sylvania Township rep).

TARTA General Manager James Gee, who should have been replaced after illegally spending taxpayer monies on the levy campaign, has presented several excuses for the "unauditable" finding.

These poorly-presented excuses do not ring true - and certainly don't account for the finding from the State Auditor.

His first response was that the missing audit items were "minor." However, in looking at the list of items the State Auditor ordered him to produce, you can see they are clearly NOT minor.

Gee's other excuse is that they installed a new computer system. Having installed a major computer system as Clerk of Toledo Municipal Court, as well as overseen the transition of Lucas County to a new ERP system, I know such a switch should never result in "unauditable" books.

The Clerk's computer system wasn't just my office, but was part of a complete replacement of individual systems in the Toledo Police Department, Clerk of Court, Toledo Municipal Judges, Lucas County Sheriff's Department Correction Center (county jail) and CCNO - the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio. Not only did we replace each of the systems in these agencies, we merged them into a single overall system that shared data and information across jurisdictions, resulting in the elimination of duplicate entries, etc. Each of these systems kept records for the agencies as well as financial data, including much more complicated financial records that what TARTA has to deal with.

None of the agencies participating the criminal justice computer replacement were unable to complete their audits like TARTA.

If, as Gee claims, the switch to a new computer system is to blame, then it is his administration and oversight, as well as his lack of planning and anticipation of needs, etc... that caused the State Auditor finding - not the computer system itself.

It is his leadership of the transition and/or the staff that is fully at fault for not adequately handling the installation of a new computer system in a manner than ensures the accountability of the agency to the public for the funds they are receiving and expending.

So even if the "unauditable" finding is partially due to a new computer system, he is still the one to blame for not making sure the agency could function throughout the transition.

His other excuse was that there was new staff in the financial office.

He obviously hired the staff, so why did he hire people who can't produce such basics audit items as a list of contracts - new computer system or not? And why would he hire new staff as he was embarking upon a computer transition?

Even if 'new staff' is partially to blame for the "unauditable" finding, it is still his responsibility as General Manager to hire the right people and ensure they are properly trained so that an audit can be completed.

Again, he is to blame.

His last excuse is that he had trouble scheduling meetings with the private accounting firm, Clifton Gunderson, who was hired to do the audit.

Talk about lame. In a full year, with today's technology, you couldn't get a meeting date???

This certainly doesn't sound valid. Clifton Gunderson is a well-respected national firm that has wide experience in doing public audits. From their website:

Clifton Gunderson is registered with the Public Company Auditor Oversight Board (PCAOB) and is a member of the Audit Quality Center of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), as well as the Government Audit Quality Center and the Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center. Our accounting and auditing quality control systems have earned unmodified reports in all of our peer reviews and a clean report from the PCAOB.

Does this really sound like a company that can't schedule a meeting?

Or is it more likely that TARTA - and James Gee, personally - are to blame for his 'lack of meeting' excuse? Besides, it doesn't take a personal meeting to produce the missing documents so an audit can be completed.

So, no matter what lame excuse Gee has presented, he is the General Manager and it was/is his responsibility to have the audit completed. He can try to blame others, but the real fault is in his lack of leadership and oversight.

He needs to go.

* "unauditable" is not an actual word, but is the term the Auditor of State has used for a number of years now to indicate the status of public agencies whose books cannot be audited, for one reason or another.

Quote of the Day - collectivist mindset

2012-01-26T06:17:00.001-05:00

"To the free man, the country is the collection of individuals who compose it, not something over and above them. He is proud of a common heritage and loyal to common traditions. But he regards government as a means, an instrumentality, neither a grantor of favors and gifts, nor a master or god to be blindly worshipped and served. He recognizes no national goal except as it is the consensus of the goals that the citizens severally serve. He recognizes no national purpose except as it is the consensus of the purposes for which the citizens severally strive." ~ Milton Friedman

Quote of the Day - heaven, hell and socialism

2012-01-25T13:51:00.000-05:00

"As an English conservative said, Obama will never realize that his kind of socialism is workable only in heaven, where it isn’t needed, and in hell, where they’ve already got it." ~ Hans Von Spakovsky

What the government doesn't want you to know: airlines now required to hide taxes

2012-01-25T08:28:00.008-05:00

I'm on a list serve with a number of conservative bloggers and yesterday there was an email from Seton Motley, President of Less Government that contained a surprising notice from Spirit Airlines.

WARNING:
New government regulations require us to HIDE taxes in your fares.

This is not consumer-friendly or in your best interest. It's wrong and you shouldn't stand for it.

Starting January 24, 2012, fares are distorted.

Why?
Thanks to the U.S. Department of Transportation's latest fare rules, Spirit must now HIDE the government's taxes and fees in your fares.

If the government can hide taxes in your airfares, then they can carry out their hidden agenda and quietly increase their taxes. (Yes, such talks are already underway.)

And if they can do it to the airline industry, what's next?
As the transparency leader and most consumer-friendly airline, Spirit DOES NOT support this new USDOT mandate. We believe the better form of transparency is to break out costs so customers know exactly what they're buying.

What can you do to help stop this injustice?
Join us in keeping government taxes and fees low and transparent by contacting your elected officials.

It then had links to contact your congressional representatives.

Additionally, when you go to the Spirit Airlines website, there is a pop-up screen that gives you the same warning.

At first I thought this was one of the most outrageous things I'd heard of. But then I realized that it's just another in the long list of abuses the government is inflicting upon us. And this from the administration that promised to be the most transparent in history.

If the Transportation Department can force companies to hide the taxation, how will you hold your government accountable for their collections and expenditures? But that's the point. They don't want you to know. Instead, when the cost of airline travel rises, you'll get mad at the 'eeeee-villlll' airline company - and politicians can then step in to save you by tyrannically imposing price controls. Voila - we're no longer the land of the free.

Kudos to Spirit Airlines for having the courage to say what needs to be said and urging their customers to be active in opposing government tyranny.

Where are the other airlines? And what action are you going to take now that you know about this?

Run a red light - it's for the children

2012-01-24T17:31:00.000-05:00

Well, well, well. Imagine my surprise to learn that the City of Toledo is planning to install additional red light cameras in order to generate funds to pay for recreational programs. The cameras clearly aren't about safety, but are merely a tool to raise funds because the city just can't stop spending.

I nearly flew out of my chair when I heard Patrick McLean, Finance Director, tell Toledo City Council at their meeting today that they will install 11 additional cameras with the hopes of raising about $320,000.

Of course, this relies upon people not running the red lights.

The problem, as I've detailed previously, is that the more people get used to red light and speed cameras, the less the revenue there is from violations. Since 2009 when the city added speed cameras and negotiated a higher percentage of the fines, the revenue has steadily decreased. This means that the city, in order to continue to collect their targeted budget amounts, must constantly expand the big-brother-type surveillance.

And now, they want the additional revenue from the additional cameras to go to recreational programs - who could argue with that?!?

Can't you just see the ads now?

* Run a red light - it's for the children!

* When you run a red light, that money goes to buy eggs for the annual Easter Egg hunt. Don't let needy children go without an egg on Easter - run a red light today!

and my favorite for which I even made a poster

* Without government recreational programs, kids will turn to crime. So run a red light ... commit a crime to keep kids from becoming criminals.

Of course, this time around, they're actually admitting the cameras are to generate revenue - not for the safety of motorists, as they've claimed previously.

Remember what traffic researcher and highway safety advocate with the motorist advocacy group National Motorists Association Barnet Fagel said:

“There’s no need for cameras if intersections are safe,” explains Fagel. “Cameras document traffic engineering errors. They don’t prevent collisions, they only record them.”
...
“If an intersection is properly engineered you don’t need cameras. I feel as long as intersections are inherently unsafe they will be profitable for the camera company and the village.”

It's what I said originally, but here's an 'expert' saying the exact same thing.

So I guess there's no need for any traffic engineering studies - not that the city did any in the first place. There's no need to try all reds in every direction before the light turns green - and no need to expand the yellow light time. In fact, since this is all about revenue, they'll probably shorten the yellow light time, as they've been accused of doing in the past, just to ensure more people get a ticket for running the red light. Talk about enhancing safety.

Perhaps, as numerous towns are ending their red light programs and evidence is mounting that the cameras actually cause more accidents, it's probably a good thing that Toledo is so opening admitting that it's not about safety, but about the bottom line.

My only hope is that City Council will say no to additional red light cameras in order to fund recreational programs. But if we can't stop them from installing more cameras, maybe we can at least get them to dedicate the revenue to repair our decrepit roads.

Constitutional Modernization Commission accepting applications for public appointments

2012-01-24T15:49:00.004-05:00

Press Release:

Constitutional Modernization Commission Accepting Applications for Public Appointments

COLUMBUS—Speaker William G. Batchelder (R-Medina) and Rep. Vernon Sykes (D-Akron), co-chairs of the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission, announced that they are currently accepting applications for 20 open public member seats on the Commission.

Per the procedure adopted by the legislative members of the Commission on December 28, 2011, interested applicants should send a cover letter and a resume to each of the co-chairs by January 31, 2012 at:

Speaker William Batchelder, Co-Chair
Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission
77 South High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215
District69@ohr.state.oh.us

Rep. Vernon Sykes, Co-Chair
Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission
77 South High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215
john.meacham@ohr.state.oh.us

The Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission is a bipartisan committee charged under R.C. 103.61 with examining the state constitution and making recommendations to the Ohio Legislature. Under the statute, appointees to the Commission shall serve without compensation for terms that expire on January 1st of every even-numbered year. A summary of H.B. 188, which established the Commission, is available online at:

http://www.lsc.state.oh.us/analyses129/11-hb188-129.pdf

-30-

'Rich pay less than their secretaries' claim has already been debunked

2012-01-24T13:32:00.003-05:00

Considering that President Barack Obama in tonight's State of the Union is going to again call for a Buffett tax on the rich, primarily because he believes the rich pay less in taxes than their secretaries, I thought this article from Yahoo News might be good to recall.

This is especially timely when you know that Warren Buffett's secretary is going to be a guest in First Lady Michelle Obama's box at the speech.

From the Yahoo News article:

On average, the wealthiest people in America pay a lot more taxes than the middle class or the poor, according to private and government data. They pay at a higher rate, and as a group, they contribute a much larger share of the overall taxes collected by the federal government.

The 10 percent of households with the highest incomes pay more than half of all federal taxes. They pay more than 70 percent of federal income taxes, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

...

This year, households making more than $1 million will pay an average of 29.1 percent of their income in federal taxes, including income taxes, payroll taxes and other taxes, according to the Tax Policy Center, a Washington think tank.

Households making between $50,000 and $75,000 will pay an average of 15 percent of their income in federal taxes.

Lower-income households will pay less. For example, households making between $40,000 and $50,000 will pay an average of 12.5 percent of their income in federal taxes. Households making between $20,000 and $30,000 will pay 5.7 percent.

The latest IRS figures are a few years older — and limited to federal income taxes — but show much the same thing. In 2009, taxpayers who made $1 million or more paid on average 24.4 percent of their income in federal income taxes, according to the IRS.

Those making $100,000 to $125,000 paid on average 9.9 percent in federal income taxes. Those making $50,000 to $60,000 paid an average of 6.3 percent.

So with this data readily available and known by reporters, do you think anyone will actually challenge the President on his claim that we need a Buffett tax because the rich pay less than their secretaries?

Hey NAACP - Who's side are you on?

2012-01-24T09:04:00.004-05:00

This is National School Choice Week and, as part of my support for kids being able to have the schooling that meets their needs regardless of their zip code, I'm sharing with you this article and video, produced by ChoiceMedia.TV

The Story of How the NY NAACP Sued Charter Schools Serving Black Kids

As school choice becomes more integrated into the fabric of American public education, teachers unions have been using a new tactic to fight these reforms: the lawsuit. And it’s making for strange bedfellows.

The United Federation of Teachers, the New York City teachers union, joined forces with the New York State NAACP in a lawsuit to evict charter schools from buildings shared with traditional district schools. This despite the high percentage of students of color that attend the city’s public charter schools.

Why would the NAACP agree to sue the very charter schools that were providing so many black kids with a high quality education?

National School Choice Week - teachers have a choice, too

2012-01-24T08:50:00.003-05:00

Press notice - for all teachers and those interested in educational choice:

Join Smart Girl Politics in partnership with the Association of American Educators for "Teachers Have a Choice Too" Tele-townhall.

Wednesday, January 25 at 7:00 PM EST

Are you a teacher? Do you have friends who are teachers? Please join us for this unique event and help us get the word out to teachers around the country that they too have a choice!

The Association of American Educators (AAE) advances the teaching profession through personal growth, professional development, teacher advocacy and protection, as well as promoting excellence in education so that our members receive the respect, recognition and reward they deserve.

AAE is America's fastest growing national, nonprofit, nonunion teachers' association with members in all 50 states.

AAE offers professional member benefits such as liability insurance and legal protection, professional development, newsletters, scholarships, classroom grants, and a voice on educational issues-but at a fraction of the cost of most other associations' dues.

AAE does not spend any of our members' dues on partisan politics, nor do we support or oppose controversial agendas unrelated to education.

Join us for a School Choice Week Tele-townhall Wednesday, January 25 at 7:00 PM. AAE will present information on school choice, show a 15 minute film, and will be available to answer questions about teacher choices.

REGISTER HERE

Follow up on TARTA board members

2012-01-24T08:36:00.005-05:00

I received an email from a friend who lives in Sylvania and she informed me that the Township named a new representative to the TARTA board last year.

Troy Stevenson, who replaced the former TARTA board president and Sylvania Township rep James Bohn, has been rather diligent in reporting back to Sylvania Township about the goings-on at TARTA. You can see his report from the Dec. 1, 2011, TARTA board meeting here.

Strangely, there is nothing in his report about the lack of a 2010 audit nor the imminent declaration by the Auditor of State that the TARTA books are 'unauditable.' Perhaps that wasn't discussed and, as a new member, it wouldn't occur to him that the agency hadn't completed its audit. Of course, considering, as I've said previously, that being put on the State Auditor's 'unauditable' list doesn't come as a surprise, everyone should be demanding an explanation from James Gee as to WHY that issue wasn't discussed at the December TARTA board meeting.

Since he's new, I won't include him in my call to replace all TARTA board members.

Hopefully, now that the financial debacle at TARTA is public, he'll earn the support of his community by holding TARTA - and his fellow board members - accountable.

Quote of the Day - tyranny

2012-01-24T08:24:00.001-05:00

"The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress." ~ Frederick Douglass

TARTA missing audit items not 'minor'

2012-01-23T11:58:00.003-05:00

In response to the declaration by the Ohio Auditor of State that TARTA is "unauditable" for the 2010 fiscal year, James Gee told the local daily that the missing items were “a list of minor details.”

So I emailed the auditor's office to find out what was missing.

Their letter reads, in part:

To Ms. Stacey Clink and Mr. James Gee:

As part of our regular audit of the Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority for the period January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010, we have determined that the condition of your financial records is not adequate to finish our audit. The IPA firm completing the audit has been unable to obtain the information in the attachments to this letter.

Consequently, we consider the financial records unauditable pursuant to Ohio Rev. Code Section 117.41.

Here are the items listed in the attachment referenced:

Cash and Cash Equivalents
• Request copies of the following checks:
 Huntington a/c 9902 (on Dec bank rec)
 Support of deposit in transit for $33,266.71

• Request details for PNC error

Accounts Receivable
• Support of A/R Federal Oper Assist account

Prepaid
• Trapeze prepaids

Fixed Assets
• FA2- Current year additions detail (need invoices for any significant additions)
• FA3 - Current year disposal detail (need check copy/support for any significant proceeds received)
• Requested support for significant CIP additions
• FA4 - Gain / loss on disposal detail
• Need responses to tax department questions

Accrued Liabilities
• Copy of AL16 for adjustment noted in health care accrual calculation which caused adjustment to be off $62,000

Miscellaneous
• Provide G/L detail for accounts 1380-000, 3020-000 and 3200-000.
• MC8 - Most recent (2011) internal Balance Sheet and Income Statement

Ohio Revised Code
• OR4 - Certificate for total amount from all sources available for 2009 and 2010.
• OR7 - Do-not-exceed certificate
• OR8 - Amending appropriation resolution for expenditures
• List of contracts over $25,000
• Any contracts > $50k. Need corresponding RFPs

Single Audit
• Disbursement Testing Selections. Sample was sent by email on 5/13/11. File was titled “Grants Disbursement Selection”. Requesting P.O.’s, invoices, and copies of cleared checks
• DBE Memos for 2010
• SA11 - Disposals that were purchased with federal dollars

Prepaid
• Hylant prepaid

Accounts Receivable
• Proof of subsequent receipt of TMACOG invoices in other accounts receivable
o Nov 09, Jan, Mar & - $21,918
o Nov – $11,166.20
o Dec - $14,065.61

Accounts Payable
• Need requested invoices for sample selected from 2011 check register. - missing grant invoices

Expenses
• Legal fee detail for 2010 invoice
• Explanation for fluctuations in the following accounts:
o 6110-020
o 6145-020
o 6160-020
o 6175-020
o 6185-020

• Need to determine whether holiday and vacation accruals are correct for last week of pay period
• Updated report for claims
• Updated report for litigations

Control testing
• Last page of check registers for requested pay periods

Other
• Completion of disbursement testing on 11/2/11
• Responses to questions and additional requests relating to quarterly narratives

These are NOT minor. It's not 'minor' to be missing your accounts receivable support for your federal operating assistance account.

It's not 'minor' to be unable to produce a listing of your fixed asset purchases and disposals.

It's not 'minor' to be missing your "Most recent (2011) internal Balance Sheet and Income Statement."

It's not 'minor' to be unable to produce - for 13 months! - your listing of contracts over $25,000 and the requests for proposals for all contracts over $50,000.

It's not 'minor' to be missing your list of disposals purchased with federal dollars. In fact, lack of the audit information on the federal items could result in loss of federal income.

It's not 'minor' to be missing details of your legal expenses, details about fluctuations in various accounts, reports for claims and litigation against the agency, or your complete check registers.

No matter what Gee says, these are major items, most of which should be kept on a regular basis or at least should be capable of being produced within a full year of being requested.

How does TARTA not provide a list of their contracts over $25,000? How do they not provide their RFPs for contracts over $50,000? How do they not gather this information in 13 full months????

There is no excuse for such incompetence. A change in personnel and a new computer system cannot be blamed for many of the missing items. It shouldn't take any specialized knowledge to go to your check register (the document used to record checks written) and make a copy of the last page for various pay periods.

I'll say it again: James Gee needs to go and the entire TARTA board needs to be replaced.

1000 days without a budget

2012-01-23T11:03:00.001-05:00

Replace all TARTA board members

2012-01-23T06:36:00.004-05:00

The Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority is in trouble again with the state auditor - this time because their 2010 fiscal year is "unauditable."

You'll remember last May when a state audit revealed that TARTA spent tax dollars illegally. The auditor issued findings for recovery against James Gee (personally) and TARTA for using public dollars to fund their tax levy campaign.

Now we learn that TARTA has failed to turn over records so their 2010 books can be audited.

A Jan. 20th press release from Dave Yost, State Auditor, says:

As a result of inadequate financial records, Auditor of State Dave Yost placed the Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority (TARTA) on the “unauditable” list.

“Unavailable records leave unanswered questions,” Auditor Yost said. “This delay is deeply troubling.”

During the course of the regular financial audit of TARTA for the period January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010, the Auditor of State’s office determined that the condition of the authority’s financial records were not adequate to complete the audit. Financial audits are usually completed within six months of the end of the entity’s fiscal year. In a letter to TARTA, the Auditor of State’s office provided a list of records required to complete the audit. For example, the authority must still provide reconciliation information, as well as lists of purchases and disposals of fixed assets.

Within 90 days of the date of the letter, TARTA must revise its financial records and provide the necessary data. Failure to bring records to an auditable condition may result in legal action, including the possibility of the attorney general issuing a subpoena to the comptroller and general manager to explain the condition of records. The attorney general may also file suit to compel the comptroller and general manager to prepare and/or produce the required information.

The Auditor of State’s Local Government Section (LGS) is now available to help TARTA reconstruct their records.

Gee told the local daily paper that the list of missing items is "minor." I've requested from the State Auditor the list as well as the letter and will share them with you upon receipt. We'll see just how 'minor' they are.

My question is why it's taken so long for anyone to know there was a problem? The audit is over six months past the normal completion time.

TARTA is managed by James Gee. But he reports to a board of trustees made up of representatives from the jurisdictions in the TARTA service area - though the board is dominated by Toledoans.

The most current list of board members I could find show these individuals and the jurisdictions they are supposed to be representing:

* James Bohn (President), Sylvania Township
* Lori Brodie, Village of Waterville
* Brian Fitch, City of Toledo
* Francis Frey, City of Maumee
* Bonita Johnson (Vice President), City of Toledo
* Jack Murphy, City of Toledo
* Shelly Papenfuse, City of Toledo
* Steven Pecsenye, City of Toledo
* Tom Ramsdell, City of Sylvania
* Kevin Rantanen, City of Perrysburg
* Harold Salverda, City of Toledo
* Barbara Sperr, City of Toledo
* Anthony Szilagye, City of Rossford
* Dee Talmage, Village of Ottawa Hills
* Robert Vasquez, City of Toledo
* Clifford Wright, City of Toledo

So why haven't any of these board members - who are supposed to be watching out for the best interests of their jurisdiction - bothered to mention to anyone that TARTA was having trouble producing financial records from 2010?

Why haven't these individuals reported back to their jurisdictions that an "unauditable" designation was forthcoming from the State Auditor? Such a determination never comes as a surprise, as it requires extensive communications and coordination before ever being considered, much less issued.

Is there no one on the board who realizes that they are responsible directly to the taxpayers and that the taxpayers should have had some warning of the problems?

Is it possible that they didn't know? If so, it means that they're not doing their job to ask where the 2010 audit report is - and/or it means that James Gee is keeping information from them.

If the latter is true, Gee needs to be removed immediately. But had I been a board member I would have insisted he be removed after being found personally liable for the illegally spent tax dollars.

These board members have failed in their basic duty: oversight of the agency. Furthermore, their failure to share the pending problems with their appointing authority indicates a lack of accountability to the people they're supposed to be representing.

They are placed on the board to ensure that the agency is serving the jurisdictions in a fiscally prudent and responsible manner. When the agency cannot be audited because it cannot produce records, it is certainly not being fiscally prudent nor responsible.

Toledo City Council and the other jurisdictional appointing authorities should call these representatives in at a public meeting to explain themselves - then remove them.

The entire board of trustees needs to be replaced with individuals who are going to be accountable to the taxpayers and who are willing to provide the oversight this agency so desperately lacks.

National School Choice Week

2012-01-22T15:13:00.003-05:00

Today is the beginning of National School Choice Week - with a goal of "shining a spotlight on effective education options for every child."

There are events across the nation - and you can find one near you by going to PutKidsFirst.com.

School choice is very basic: it consists of 'allowing' (though no one should be granting such permission in the first place) families to select the school(s) that bests meet their child’s needs. Heritage Foundation has published a video the explains school choice, how it can benefit parents and their children and, most importantly, why school choice is needed today more than ever.

School choice is critical because, as the Put Kids First website says:

“kids should be able to read their diploma”

and

“America shouldn’t be 35th in anything.”

but even more importantly

“Because children shouldn’t be condemned to failure because they live in the wrong zip code.”

Take some time this week to learn about school choice and why so many people support it.

Quote of the Day - government parasite

2012-01-22T08:30:00.000-05:00

"Government is a parasite -- a cancer that by nature tries to spread deeper into society. Those who want to run others' lives won't give up and start minding their own business." ~ Harry Browne

Contradiction abounds in requirement to provide free birth control

2012-01-21T08:21:00.004-05:00

Friday, the Obama Administration announced final regulations requiring health care plans to cover birth control without charging any co-pays or deductibles to their participants. The requirement will begin Aug. 1.

The administrative rule will require organizations like religious schools and Catholic hospitals to offer birth control - at no cost - to employees covered by their health plans, though not until 2013. Houses of worship are exempt.

I'm certain that many people are going to be writing about the infringement on religion, and the Catholic religion specifically, but I want to focus on the clear contradiction in thought: that requiring health care plans to provide contraception (or any service/treatment/drug) without a co-pay or deductible somehow 'saves money.'

First, there isn't anyone who doesn't have 'access' to contraception. Any person can purchase condoms and anti-spermicide at the drug store counter - and the effectiveness of each is increased by using them together.

Any woman can get a prescription for birth control from numerous outlets. A doctor may recommend a specific type over another based upon the woman's personal and medical history, but there are so many doctors willing to write the prescriptions that no woman is without 'access.'

This regulation isn't about 'access' - it's about a woman not having to pay for the contraception she wants to use.

From The Hill:

"Birth control is not just basic health care for women, it is an economic concern," Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement. "This common sense decision means that millions of women, who would otherwise pay $15 to $50 a month, will have access to affordable birth control, helping them save hundreds of dollars each year."

As Richards readily admits, women already have access, but they're paying "$15 to $50 per month." With this new rule, they won't be required to pay anything - at least, not up front.

But someone always pays, hence the contradiction.

The manufacturer will still need to be compensated for the product they provide. So while the individual woman won't have to fork over any money at the time she actually get her contraceptive, insurance companies will still have a cost that will need to be covered. Without the ability to charge the individual user, they'll raise their rates on everyone to cover the expense.

This means higher rates for all - including the ones who think they're now getting their contraception for free. Talk about a contradiction between hype and reality.

So of course, it should come as no surprise that the overwhelming comments on the HHS rule were in favor of the requirement. All those people who supported it think they'll no longer have to pay. But that's just a bigger comment on their intelligence and reasoning skills - or perhaps our education system - than it is on the rule itself.

So what about seniors who don't need contraception? Or a single person who is celibate? What about men and women who have had a medical procedure that eliminates the need for contraception? Or individuals who are sterile?

All of these people will now be covering the costs so some can have the luxury of not having any out-of-pocket expenses for a product only they are using.

This is un-American. And it's no different than if my co-worker stole money out of my wallet in order to pay for her birth control pills.

Guest Column: New Programs a priority for BWC

2012-01-21T07:34:00.002-05:00

Guest Column from State Rep. Barbara Sears:

New Programs a Priority for Bureau of Workers’ Compensation

As a long-time advocate for employee benefits, I am excited that the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. The BWC has a long legacy of protecting Ohio workers and creating programs that speak to the best interest of both Ohio business owners and their employees. The BWC has been especially successful in its 100th year when it came to creating programs that protect and benefit Ohio workers.

One of the great programs created this past year by the BWC is the Destination: Excellence Program. This program aims to improve return-to-work rates by rewarding employers for building a risk management plan that focuses on safety, prevention, and returning injured employees back to their jobs more quickly. The plan offers seven program options to best fit the unique needs of employers and their businesses.

Another BWC program that seeks to keep employees healthy and productive is the new Wellness Grant Program. The Wellness Grant Program is a four year $4 million plan that awards companies up to $15,000 to create employee wellness initiatives. This program will help employers meet the challenges related to rising incidences of obesity and chronic disease, as well as an aging workforce. All of these factors contribute to workplace injuries and slow the recovery of injured workers.

Additionally, there is the Grow Ohio Program. This program speaks specifically to employers. It is designed to help boost economic development by creating options for new employers that can decrease their premiums by up to 53 percent. The Grow Ohio Program and similar efforts are crucial to creating an environment in Ohio in which businesses are able to thrive and expand.

Aside from program building, the BWC has made it a priority to cut down unnecessary spending through a series of efforts. The BWC has saved Ohio’s private employers $65 million in premiums by reducing the average base rates by four percent. Next, it has reduced Public Employer rates by five percent, thereby saving local governments $22 million a year. Lastly, the BWC has saved an additional $80 million by reducing its budget by 12 percent over the next two years.

The combination of creating excellent programs for Ohio’s workforce, alongside accomplishing major reductions in unnecessary spending, has fostered a healthier environment for the Ohio job market. It has been a remarkable year for the BWC, and I have no doubt that the momentum it has gained in its 100th year will continue into the future as we continue to serve the needs of Ohio’s workforce

Quotes of the Day - other people's money

2012-01-20T06:59:00.000-05:00

"Politicians never accuse you of ‘greed’ for wanting other people’s money—only for wanting to keep your own money." ~ Joseph Sobran

"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves." ~ Ronald Reagan

"What’s “just” has been debated for centuries, but let me offer you my definition of social justice: I keep what I earn and you keep what you earn. Do you disagree? Well then, tell me how much of what I earn “belongs” to you -- and why?" ~ Walter Williams

Understanding SOPA and PIPA

2012-01-19T07:26:00.004-05:00

Because of the actions of numerous websites, including Wikipedia which went black yesterday, a lot of people are now aware of two pending Congressional bills: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA).

But in case you still don't know why they're such a big deal, Sal Khan from the Khan Academy has put together a video which explains the bill in it language that is easy to understand.

(H/T: Small Business Against Big Government)

Toledo City Council Meeting January 17, 2012

2012-01-19T07:20:00.003-05:00

Notes from Sherry:

Prior to the meeting, everyone in the Chambers had to leave. There was a bomb threat.

In attendance: Councilmen Collins, Sarantou, Martinez, Ludeman, McNamara, Copeland, Steel, Craig, Waniewski, Riley, Councilwomen Webb, Hicks-Hudson, Deputy Mayor Herwat, Mayor Bell.

Special Meeting on the 10th - (I wasn't there)

Item 16 – Accept Fact Finding Report for Toledo Fire Chief's Association (TFCA) – passed.

Item 17 – Appointment – Director of Department of Neighborhoods – Lourdes Santiago – Webb – on going investigation – Should we appoint? Premature – timing off. Nothing against Lourdes. Waniewski – tell the public that there is stability in that department. Herwat – agrees with Waniewski. Webb – thanks for your comments. Confirmed – all voting yes.

Item 18 – Appointments – City Council Committee – confirmed – all voting yes.

Item 19 – Resolution – Recognize Buckeye Cable Sports Network (BCSN) on their 8th anniversary – adopted – all voting yes.

Item 35 – SUP for fuel station for Kroger at 2555 Glendale Ave. at S. Detroit Ave. (w/o Recommendation 4 – 0) – Collins – property owners (abutting) are across the room – not against Kroger – not a win/loss – zoning issues- traffic crashes (many mentioned) – How will this be filled? - What will neighbors say? - We have 2,500 signatures against this, 490 of them are residents – these people are stake holders – vote no with me – broken window analogy, that is the first step – not no to Kroger, no to this project. No – Collins, Copeland, Hicks-Hudson, Ludeman, Martinez, Riley, Sarantou, Steel – Yes – Waniewski, Craig, McNamara, Webb. Ordinance failed.

Item 10 – Amend TMC Part 1 to transfer Division of Recreation from Neighborhoods to Department of Public Service – McNamara – needs 3 readings – Hold till January 31st.

Item 15 – (496-11) Accept JAG grant for Police for equipment for motorcycle traffic enforcement, $207,691 – passed – No – Collins, Craig, Martinez, McNamara, Riley – Yes – Waniewski, Ludeman, Hicks-Hudson, Steel, Sarantou, Copeland, Webb.

Item 20 – Contract with Kalniz, Iorio & Feldstein for legal defense for Police Officer Arrow Osborne, $13,520 General Fund – passed – all voting yes.

Item 21 – Accept FirstEnergy E.D. Grant for VM Systems Inc for electrical upgrades at 3125 Hill Ave., $25,000 – passed – all voting yes (Craig out of the room).

Item 22 – Eminent Domain – 6010 Garden Road for Perrysburg-Holland Bridge over Swan Creek, $31,878 – passed – all voting yes.

Item 23 - Eminent Domain – 2454 Knights Hill for Perrysburg-Holland Bridge over Swan Creek, $3,280 - passed – all voting yes (Craig out of the room).

Item 24 – Agreements with Ohio EPA, OWDA and Nature Conservancy for WRRSP in Oak Openings area – passed – all voting yes.

Item 25 - Agreements with Ohio EPA, OWDA & Black Swamp Conservancy for WRRSP in Maumee River Watershed – passed – all voting yes.

Item 26 – Agreement for sale of Renewable Energy Credits from Co-Generation Facility at Bay View WWTP – passed – all voting yes.

Item 27 – Expenditure for DPU 2012 membership dues to American Water Works Association, $11,191 Water Operations – passed – all voting yes.

Item 28 – Appropriation for rehab of Pump No. 3 at Heatherdowns Pumping Station, 2650 Cass Ave., $65,000 Water Replacement – passed – all voting yes. Ludeman – after 9/11, that pump needed security. Herwat – someone will get with you, to give you a verbal briefing.

Item 29 – Accept ODOT grant for various Engineering Services improvement projects City-wide, $15,817,442 – passed – all voting yes.

Item 30 – Accept OPWC grants & loans for 9 roadway projects & 4 utility projects for Engineering Services, $7,298,188 – passed – all voting yes.

Item 31 – Resolution – Application to ODOD CORF for remediation and demolition of Northtowne Square Mall, $2M – Collins - $700,000 in EPA grant? Person from Administration (did not say name) – Yes. Original grant was 1.5 Mil – 504 K added. One year to repay interest free – What happens to project? Last project (Clean OH) moved to top of list. Collins – dedicated to Northtowne? Person from Administration – Yes. Grant due 1/20 – difficult to get. Waniewski – apply now or goodbye. Person from Administration – Yes. Waniewski – go after it. Craig – more jobs to Toledo. Adopted – all voting yes.

Item 32 – Appropriation for demolition of Collingwood Manor Apartments, 2127 & 2131 Collingwood, $123,000 Grants & General Fund – passed – all voting yes.

Item 33 – Zone change at 1212 Cherry St. (Approved 5 – 0) – passed – all voting yes.

Item 34 – SUP for drug & alcohol residential facility and non residential treatment center at 1212 Cherry St. (Approved 5 – 0) – passed – all voting yes.

Item 36 – (11-11) Amend TMC to enact Sec. 127.14 to transfer NBA from Neighborhoods to Department Public Service – McNamara - motion to relieve – amend – Hold until 1/31. Steel – Why? McNamara – needs 3 readings. Martinez – supports.

Last Call:

Hicks-Hudson – reminder of Meeting at Kent Library, 6 PM, Budget. MLK Service at the University was very good- peace through justice.

Sarantou – MLK service was very good. Finance Meeting, Thursday, 1/19, at 1:30. Economics Professor from UT to be there.

Steel – update on web site? (to Sarantou) Yes.

Waniewski – Thanks to all for participating in the online budget meeting. Update on Lobbyist (quarterly).

Webb – Appointments to Steering Committee – not done. On 1/26 at 4:00 PM, at the YMCA on Summit/Superior – is the first unofficial meeting.

Stench of landfill – dredging has been added – lots of complaints. If it is over 45 degrees, you can smell it. Took the kids out for a walk, the smell made her ill. She made contact with Mr. Ireland – what are we going to do? Herwat – will get with you on that.

McNamara – Retreat this Saturday – talk about anything – will send draft on Friday night.

Latta statement on SOPA and PIPA

2012-01-18T12:51:00.001-05:00

Press release:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green) issued the following statement regarding Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA):

“SOPA and Protect IP Act are well-intentioned proposals that attempt to address online piracy concerns; however, in their current form the legislation goes too far. The proposals can present damaging ramifications to free speech, global cybersecurity and Internet functionality. At this time, I do not support SOPA and Protect IP Act in their current form, and I hope further committee hearing will be held to resolve these concerns."

###

Humor: Hydrogen Barackside

2012-01-18T08:22:00.004-05:00

Sent to me via email and sharing because I thought it was funny. I believe the source is Toby Toons.

Quote of the Day - a Lotus-land of litigability

2012-01-18T07:24:00.002-05:00

I decided to share this quote, not just because of the content, but because I absolutely loved the last line and the description of what our court system has become.

"The paternalist project for our civil courts runs something as follows. After the revolution -- which perhaps has already taken place—the average citizen will enjoy a vast array of wonderful new rights to sue other people. You will be empowered to haul your neighbors and fellow citizens to court if you feel they have fallen short of good faith and fair play. You will be entitled to sue them for unlimited damages, punitive as well as compensatory, even over behavior that had previously been thought not subject to liability at all. Everyone will be under a vague but stringent obligation to look out for your safety and welfare, enforceable by legal action. You will enjoy a cornucopia of contention opportunities, a smorgasbord of suing options, a Lotus-land of litigability." ~ Walter Olsen

House Republicans outline priorities, initiatives for 2012

2012-01-17T16:12:00.002-05:00

Press Release:

House Republicans Outline Priorities, Initiatives for 2012

Workforce development, beginning hearings on fixing school funding formula among top goals for legislative session

COLUMBUS—On the heels of a successful first half of the General Assembly that saw the passage of more than 90 bills that address issues from regulatory reform and the creation of JobsOhio to prescription drug abuse, Speaker of the Ohio House William G. Batchelder (R-Medina) and members of the House Republican Caucus today unveiled their legislative priorities for 2012 at a press conference at the Ohio Statehouse.

“It was not too long ago that this state faced an $8 billion budget hole that was created when the former administration wrote short-term checks with disappearing ink,” said Speaker Batchelder. “In 2011, this caucus faced one of the greatest challenges ever put onto the plate of a legislature—deciding whether to fill an enormous deficit by either reducing state spending or by raising taxes on every family in Ohio. We defied the skeptics; we filled this deficit without raising taxes, we kept vital services intact and protected our state’s most vulnerable. The second half of the General Assembly will be focused on building upon this strong foundation that we have worked so hard for and bringing about a brighter, more prosperous Ohio in a number of ways.”

The priorities outlined by House Republicans include a close analysis, fact finding, and making recommendations for revising Ohio’s school funding formula, which in 1997 was deemed unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court. Despite the court ruling, Ohio’s school funding system has not undergone any transformative changes that have wholly fixed the root of the problem. To address this issue, House Republicans announced that they will initiate comprehensive, bipartisan hearings on both the funding formula and student achievement, which will be led by Representative Ron Amstutz (R-Wooster) throughout the duration of 2012.

“The goal of these discussions will be to figure out how we can make our schools and students more successful in a cost-efficient manner for Ohio’s taxpayers,” said Rep. Amstutz. “We want to create a new model of achievement and accountability that will benefit all of Ohio’s students and give those from disadvantaged geographic regions an equal chance to succeed. We will work diligently on legislation to incorporate the findings into practice and place Ohio’s schools back on track with an equitable and fair funding formula. The goal of any legislation implemented is to create an equitable funding formula and to develop a more accurate measure of success and achievement for our students.”

The House Republican Caucus also laid out a proposal to implement the recommendations of the JobsOhio report through the creation of the Development Services Agency. The proposal will complete the transition to a lean, streamlined public/private partnership free of the cumbersome bureaucracy that characterized Ohio’s economic efforts in the past. Additionally, the caucus discussed strategies for implementing the findings of the Ohio Workforce Development Study Committee, specifically focusing on helping career tech schools and community colleges to prepare a ready workforce, as well as training Ohioans for imminent shale and energy jobs.

“We continue to strive to get unemployment down, help Ohioans find work, and create new opportunities for Ohio well into the future,” said Speaker Batchelder. “We have maintained a focus on jobs throughout 2011—from passing several tax credits to encourage economic investment and job retention, to exploring our energy potential that could create hundreds of thousands of jobs— and Ohioans can expect that we will continue this focus into 2012 and beyond.”

The caucus has also revealed plans to reform the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, building upon existing reforms to go further in assisting injured workers while identifying other cost-saving possibilities.

Other legislative items that the House Republican Caucus intends to address include:

* The Great Lakes Compact
* Casino and gaming laws
* Healthcare exchange
* Laws pertaining to exotic animals

“We have tackled the issues that are most important to the people of this state, and we will continue to do so for as long as we have the privilege of leading this House,” said Speaker Batchelder. “There is much time and energy that we must be prepared to invest in order to revive the state of Ohio, and we are ready to do the work necessary in order to breathe new life into this state and be able to compete nationally. We’ve come a long way, but we have much, much farther to go—we are just getting started.”

-30-

Quote of the Day - government intrusion

2012-01-17T13:50:00.000-05:00

"No government that was concerned with freedom would seek to ban pursuits that harm no one, such as foxhunting, simply because they are unpopular. No government that has respect for its citizens would seek to interfere so intimately with so many of their private activities -- for instance, what right does a government have to tell me under what terms and conditions I may sell my house. The transaction should, quite simply, be none of their business." ~ George Thomas, Letter to Editor, London Times, October 13, 1999

Unions are one-for-all and all-for-one, except when they aren't

2012-01-17T07:33:00.005-05:00

I've always been puzzled by the contradiction that unions present.

The general concept of joining together to advocate for things like wage scales, benefits and working conditions has a basic premise in the 'strength through numbers' idea.

Clearly, if all workers are standing together and refusing to work until some objective is reached, they are in a better position than if it was just a single person fighting for a position.

But too often, there comes a point at which the 'one for all' cry is abandoned and it's 'every man for himself.'

I once interviewed the president of a local police union during a time when the city was threatening layoffs if they didn't get wage concessions. I asked the president what he thought his members would do if the choice was to keep everyone employed at a 3% reduction in wages or to keep the current wages and lose 25 officers. His response, surprisingly honest, was that "sadly" he thought the members would pick the layoffs.

When I challenged this and asked how a union - united - could throw some members under the bus instead of suffering a shared sacrifice among all, he wouldn't make a judgment, just share what he thought the outcome of such a choice would be.

This union president is not alone in his thinking - this is what many unions choose when faced with a similar choice of cuts or layoffs.

And this is what puzzles me so: how can an organization formed to support the one-for-all approach to employment so willingly sacrifice some members so others can keep a certain level of gains. Wouldn't the idea of unionism require a general sacrifice of all in order to keep all employed?

The unions selectively apply this one-for-all approach, resulting in hypocrisy.

For instance, the Wall Street Journal is reporting a new AFL-CIO ad campaign to boost union image and membership (subscription may be required for full article):

The AFL-CIO is launching an ad campaign that seeks to bolster the labor movement's image—the first such effort in more than a decade—as unions try to reverse a slide in public approval and membership.

Labor officials say the broad campaign, which is being rolled out initially in three cities at a cost of $1.5 million, isn't political and remains separate from the AFL-CIO's election mobilization, when the federation is expected to spend tens of millions of dollars to support President Barack Obama.

...

The ads, which avoid contentious images of strikes, attempt to characterize unions as representative of all workers. "Most people…see us as a valuable check on corporations. But as to whether they see us as fresh and innovative and changing with the times, those ideas aren't really on people's minds," said Elizabeth Shuler, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, who is heading the ad campaign.

She added the campaign is an effort "to reach out to all Americans whether they're in a union or not."

One 30-second television ad that is scheduled to air for the first time Tuesday in Pittsburgh and Austin, Texas, and in coming days in Portland, Ore. ...

So when it comes to spending $1.5 million to do a little self-promotion (in only three cities), the argument will be that it's for the good of the entity - the union itself - thus benefiting all members.

We've all heard the rhetoric: that an attack on one union is an attack on all; that any effort to reduce union wages or pensions is an assault on the entire middle class; that unions maintain the standard of living in a community and if their standard is reduced, it negatively impacts everyone. Basically, they're promoting the all-for-one concept.

But these same individuals will agree in negotiations and approve contracts with two-tiered wage scales where newer members don't get the same wage scales and benefits as the older workers.

The same union leaders who complain about cuts to wages and proclaim that having employees pick up a portion of health care costs is unreasonable, don't offer to reduce the dues their members pay in order to offset the cuts being proposed.

In fact, when have you ever heard of a union leader saying he'll take the same cut in pay he's negotiated for his members? Has that ever happened?

This contradiction - of being one-for-all and all-for-one, except when they're not - is part of what contributes to the image problem and declining membership unions are experiencing. Well, that and their unsustainable public union contracts, their behavior in Wisconsin and other areas, and their growing irrelevance (based upon the successful implementation of laws to address much of their early grievances and issues)....

I once read a rant from a local union leader who, in criticizing the Tea Party efforts, said he wouldn't want to be member of group that would have him as a member. Apparently, the hypocrisy of being a union leader and a member of group that not only had him as a member, but elected him to a leadership position, was beyond him.

It's the hypocrisy the unions need to be worried about. While many will overlook the other negatives, hypocrisy is hard to embrace - and, when given an option, too many people will refuse to pay for it.

In honor of Rev.Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

2012-01-16T07:28:00.004-05:00

In honor of his birthday, I'm sharing this column by Frances Rice, a lawyer, retired Army Lieutenant Colonel and Chairman of the National Black Republican Association. It appeared in numerous publications, including Human Events, in 2006. Ms. Rice can be contacted at: www.NBRA.info

Why Martin Luther King Was Republican

It should come as no surprise that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican. In that era, almost all black Americans were Republicans. Why? From its founding in 1854 as the anti-slavery party until today, the Republican Party has championed freedom and civil rights for blacks. And as one pundit so succinctly stated, the Democrat Party is as it always has been, the party of the four S's: slavery, secession, segregation and now socialism.

It was the Democrats who fought to keep blacks in slavery and passed the discriminatory Black Codes and Jim Crow laws. The Democrats started the Ku Klux Klan to lynch and terrorize blacks. The Democrats fought to prevent the passage of every civil rights law beginning with the civil rights laws of the 1860s, and continuing with the civil rights laws of the 1950s and 1960s.

During the civil rights era of the 1960s, Dr. King was fighting the Democrats who stood in the school house doors, turned skin-burning fire hoses on blacks and let loose vicious dogs. It was Republican President Dwight Eisenhower who pushed to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and sent troops to Arkansas to desegregate schools. President Eisenhower also appointed Chief Justice Earl Warren to the U.S. Supreme Court, which resulted in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision ending school segregation. Much is made of Democrat President Harry Truman's issuing an Executive Order in 1948 to desegregate the military. Not mentioned is the fact that it was Eisenhower who actually took action to effectively end segregation in the military.

Democrat President John F. Kennedy is lauded as a proponent of civil rights. However, Kennedy voted against the 1957 Civil Rights Act while he was a senator, as did Democrat Sen. Al Gore Sr. And after he became President, Kennedy was opposed to the 1963 March on Washington by Dr. King that was organized by A. Phillip Randolph, who was a black Republican. President Kennedy, through his brother Atty. Gen. Robert Kennedy, had Dr. King wiretapped and investigated by the FBI on suspicion of being a Communist in order to undermine Dr. King.

In March of 1968, while referring to Dr. King's leaving Memphis, Tenn., after riots broke out where a teenager was killed, Democrat Sen. Robert Byrd (W.Va.), a former member of the Ku Klux Klan, called Dr. King a "trouble-maker" who starts trouble, but runs like a coward after trouble is ignited. A few weeks later, Dr. King returned to Memphis and was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

Given the circumstances of that era, it is understandable why Dr. King was a Republican. It was the Republicans who fought to free blacks from slavery and amended the Constitution to grant blacks freedom (13th Amendment), citizenship (14th Amendment) and the right to vote (15th Amendment). Republicans passed the civil rights laws of the 1860s, including the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Reconstruction Act of 1867 that was designed to establish a new government system in the Democrat-controlled South, one that was fair to blacks. Republicans also started the NAACP and affirmative action with Republican President Richard Nixon's 1969 Philadelphia Plan (crafted by black Republican Art Fletcher) that set the nation's fist goals and timetables. Although affirmative action now has been turned by the Democrats into an unfair quota system, affirmative action was begun by Nixon to counter the harm caused to blacks when Democrat President Woodrow Wilson in 1912 kicked all of the blacks out of federal government jobs.

Quote of the Day - Q&A on the Constitution

2012-01-14T09:17:00.001-05:00

Q. What is meant by the term “constitution”?

A. A constitution embodies the fundamental principles of a government. Our constitution, adopted by the sovereign power, is amendable by that power only. To the constitution all laws, executive actions, and judicial decisions must conform, as it is the creator of the powers exercised by the departments of government.

Q. Why has our Constitution been classed as “rigid”?

A. The term “rigid” is used in opposition to “flexible” because the provisions are in a written document which cannot be legally changed with the same ease and in the same manner as ordinary laws. The British constitution, which is unwritten, can, on the other hand be changed overnight by an act of Parliament. ...

Q. Where, in the Constitution, is there mention of education?

A. There is none; education is a matter reserved for the States. ...

Q. Does the Constitution give us our rights and liberties?

A. No, it does not, it only guarantees them. The people had all their rights and liberties before they made the Constitution. The Constitution was formed, among other purposes, to make the people’s liberties secure -- secure not only as against foreign attack but against oppression by their own government. They set specific limits upon their national government and upon the States, and reserved to themselves all powers that they did not grant. The Ninth Amendment declares: “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”

~ Sol Bloom, Director General of the United States Constitution Sesquicentennial Commission

New York Times as a 'truth vigilante'?

2012-01-13T19:06:00.002-05:00

From the Wall Street Journal' Best of the Web column by James Taranto:

The Truth Vigilantes
Their mission: hunt down facts and destroy them.

Hilarity ensued yesterday after Arthur Brisbane, "public editor" of the New York Times posted a blog entry titled "Should the Times Be a Truth Vigilante?" He was compelled to publish a follow-up post hours later to reply to his "large majority of respondents" who answered his question "with, yes, you moron, The Times should check facts and print the truth."

You just can't make this stuff up!

Who gets to decide: you or the government?

2012-01-13T08:04:00.008-05:00

"[T]here are, at bottom, basically two ways to order social affairs, Coercively, through the mechanisms of the state -- what we can call political society. And voluntarily, through the private interaction of individuals and associations -- what we can call civil society. ... In a civil society, you make the decision. In a political society, someone else does. ... Civil society is based on reason, eloquence, and persuasion, which is to say voluntarism. Political society, on the other hand, is based on force." ~ Edward H. Crane

When it comes to the 2012 election, I predict that Democrats will try to portray Republicans as mean or mean-spirited and corporate or corporate-backed (as if having the support of people who actually provide jobs is a bad thing).

Their record on the economy, which they can no longer blame on Pres. Bush despite continuing to try, is dismal.

They're not promoting American exceptionalism, something that voters continue to believe in.

They're trying to divide us by race, income, class, employment - and just about every other category they can come up.

And their general philosophy - larger government - means Americans will have less control over their own lives and decisions.

Their positions are not 'American.' But then, they did say they want to "fundamentally change" our nation. I guess we should have believed them.

The 2012 election will boil down to a basic question of 'who gets to decide.' Who will decide how you will live your life? Who will decide how your money is spent? Who will decide, basically, everything?

Will it be you?

Or will it be the government?

Democrats want the answer to be government, though they'll try to couch it in such a way so that you'll believe they're doing it for your own good.

But think about that for a moment. How arrogant must a person be, especially someone who is supposed to be a servant to the public, to think they know better than you what is in your own good?

You might believe your parents, relatives or friends have your own good at heart when they advise you, but does an elected official? Someone who doesn't know you, your circumstances, your goals and interests? The only answer to that is a resounding 'no'!

And do you really believe that any decision designed for the masses is going to be the best decision for you? It may be, but chances are that it won't. Nothing designed for everyone actually works for everyone - any experience with one-size-fits-all clothing will tell you it NEVER fits 'all.'

Government and the decisions by politicians are no different.

But as Republicans battle Democrats in the election cycle, any argument against government making the decisions will be cast as 'mean,' 'mean-spirited' and 'uncaring.' How could any Republican not see that government needs to 'take care' of people?

Republicans hate children, the elderly, the poor, the down-trodden, the sick, the environment, etc... We want to kill kids, pollute the earth, let sick people die without health care, have the elderly eat dog food, starve the poor, and manipulate workers. Anyone seriously thinking about such claims will know how bogus they are, but they make such good sound bites, willingly repeated by a compliant and complicit press.

You name it and the Dems will say that the opposition is because Republicans are, well, evil. How could they not be, though the actual reasoning behind the opposition to government being in control of your life is never addressed.

No, it's much easier to appeal to the emotion of disliking mean people, which almost all of us do. That way, Dems won't have to address their dismal record - or the record they are proud of which has had the opposite effect of what was intended (think bailouts that backfired, stimulus that didn't, etc...).

Republicans don't have a good track record of communicating the difference between their answer to the question versus the Democrat answer. Sadly, it's hard to communicate a philosophy you don't fully support and too many Republican candidates and officeholders don't have the best of records on letting you control your own life. Despite what they say, some have actions which show they'd rather exercise that control themselves.

Still, they're better than the Dems when it comes to your freedom.

So when you're listening to the speeches, the ads and the sound bites, remember that the 2012 campaigns will all boil down to one easy point:

Who gets to decide?

Who is in control?

You?

Or the government?

Hypocrisy thy name is Debbie Wasserman Schultz

2012-01-12T07:39:00.005-05:00

I'm just sick and tired of this and I cannot understand how Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, can say this kind of thing - and get away with it!

First of all, the Tuscon shooting had nothing whatsoever to do with the Tea Party, as has been proven.

But this elected representative of the people had the unmitigated gall to say:

"We need to make sure that we tone things down ..."

Perhaps she should take her own advice and start by no longer blaming her political opponents for shooting her friend.

Here's a good rant on the subject which points out an additional hypocrisy:

DNC Chair Blames Tea Party for Shootings, Embraces OWS Criminals

Quote of the Day - 2012 Election

2012-01-12T06:17:00.001-05:00

Victor David Hanson has a great column on Pres. Barack Obama and his lawlessness. I hope you'll read the entire article.

What makes Barack Obama a different president is not his racial heritage, his liberal outlook, or his mellifluous cadences, but rather the banal idea that the United States is fundamentally in need of this sort of radical change, and that only a select few like himself have the insight and skills necessary to both implement and preside over it. We simply have not seen that redistributive ideology in a president since Jimmy Carter, and then only in part. So far the biggest edge for Obama is his inability to push more of his agenda through first a friendly and now a not-so-friendly Congress — as if to say, “How could I be a redistributionist when they did not let me redistribute as planned?”

The fulfillment of that old vision of mandated equality of result is what the 2012 election is about — nothing more, nothing less.

Virtual Toledo budget meeting tonight

2012-01-11T16:25:00.003-05:00

WSPD news is reporting:

Toledo City Council is holding it's first ever virtual town hall meeting on the budget -- this leap into the future and convenience being sponsored by district five councilman Tom Waneiwski. He got the web cam idea since previous meetings had brought out more civic leaders than average residents and the idea is to change that by exposing the meetings to more concerned residents who can not make the meetings, due to work schedules, child care issues, transportation or weather concerns.

The meeting is at 6 pm tonight via www.anymeeting.com/distfive1

There will be a way for you to ask questions as well.

New law will allow schools to donate leftover food

2012-01-11T16:15:00.000-05:00

Press Release:

Congressman Latta Announces New Law that Allows Schools to Donate Leftover Food to Charities and Pantries

BOWLING GREEN – Congressman Latta (R-Bowling Green) announces that a new provision in the Department of Agriculture’s annual spending bill will allow public schools to donate excess food to charities and pantries. The new provision by Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA) now ensures schools are covered under the Good Samaritan Act, which protects donors who give to food banks in good faith from all liability. Previously, many school districts didn’t donate food out of concern that they weren’t covered under the Good Samaritan Act.

“As a result of this clarification, each school and local educational agency participating in the school lunch program may donate any food not consumed under the school lunch program to eligible local food banks or charitable organizations,” said Rep. Latta. “This long overdue, common-sense change will allow schools to boost the inventory of food pantries at a time when donations are greatly needed,” added Latta.

Congressman Latta has sent school principals and food bank directors across the Fifth Congressional District a letter informing them of the new change. A copy of the letter can be found here.

###

Quote of the Day - equal branches of government

2012-01-11T14:55:00.000-05:00

"You seem ... to consider the judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions; a very dangerous doctrine indeed, and one which would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy. Our judges are as honest as other men, and not more so. They have, with others, the same passions for party, for power, and the privilege of their corps.... Their power [is] the more dangerous as they are in office for life, and not responsible, as the other functionaries are, to the elective control. The Constitution has erected no such single tribunal, knowing that to whatever hands confided, with the corruptions of time and party, its members would become despots. It has more wisely made all the departments co-equal and co-sovereign within themselves." ~ Thomas Jefferson

Toledo city pools - catering to the 2%

2012-01-11T06:20:00.003-05:00

The City of Toledo is considering moving the Recreation Department out of the embattled Department of Neighborhoods and into the Department of Public Service. They think it may save money.

Why the city is in the business of providing 'recreation' - or if it should be - is a question Toledo City Council members rarely consider.

Many, including my District Council rep, Lindsay Webb, truly believe that providing pools for kids to swim in and other types of recreation/entertainment are clearly a function of government.

I disagree - not only on principle as a believer in limited government - but also on a fiscal basis. Our city is constantly raising fees (red-light and speed cameras, trash tax, etc...) while facing deficits. We just don't have the money.

But on a principle basis, the claim is that these types of programs provide "quality of life" for residents. The problem is, they provide a certain benefit for some, at the expense of all. And simply saying that "all" have the "opportunity" to take advantage of them doesn't negate the fact that my quality of life is diminished by having to pay for recreation/entertain I neither like nor want, but that is forced upon me by a significant few.

An analysis I did in 2008 showed that even under the best of scenarios, the city pools serve less than 7% of the youth population and, since we know that adults also visit the pools, less than 2% of the total population of the city.

Why are we spending money to serve less than 2% of the residents? And why would council members claim that the entire city's quality of life is enhanced by a 'service' that caters to less than 2%? Certainly the taxation of 100% in order to serve 2% isn't logical and doesn't enhance the 'quality of life' of the remaining 98%. As many of the same council members who promote this logic also supported the OccupyToledo group, you'd think they'd understand this concept.

These same council members also talk about how pools and other youth entertainment help reduce crime. However, I have yet to see a single one of them provide a single study or shred of evidence that such is the case anywhere, much less here in Toledo.

The bottom line is that they want to provide pools, so they do. That the vast majority of the public doesn't want our limited tax dollars so expended is countered by an emotional appeal to our 'quality of life.' Yet even that attempt at logic falls short with just a cursory examination.

My quality of life is negatively impacted so that council can - maybe - enhance the quality of life of the 2%. Sadly, Toledo city council members don't understand that providing a quality of life service for some means a lack of quality of life for most.

Me, too! Me, too!

2012-01-11T06:14:00.001-05:00

From WSPD News:

The city of Toledo has a new deal with the Fire Chiefs Association. The agreement is the end to the first of four negotiations for new contracts in divisions of Police and Fire. Toledo City Council unanimously approved a fact-finding report calling for concessions from the Toledo Fire Chiefs Association that included: A wage freeze until January 2014 with a possible increase in 2013, elimination of the city's pension pick-up, which will be phased out gradually over the three year contract, and increased employee contributions to health insurance.The report also has new bargaining rules: If the city declares "exigent circumstances," the union must go back to the table and bargain.The Fire Chiefs Association approved the terms last week, despite a union spokesperson saying that the concessions will cost every member $17,000 per year. The city could save millions of dollars if similar concessions hold for all of those unions.

All I want to know now, is when do the other unions follow the 'me-too' clauses in their contracts and take these concessions as well??

2012 Toledo State of the City address

2012-01-10T15:50:00.002-05:00

Press Release:

Mayor Bell to deliver 2012 State of the City, January 30, 2012

Annual speech to be part of Rotary Club meeting; available to public live on knowledgestream.org

Mayor Michael P. Bell will deliver the 2012 State of the City address at noon on Monday, January 30, 2012 at the regular meeting of the Rotary Club of Toledo. The speech will be available to the public live at www.knowledgestream.org.

The Rotary meeting begins promptly at noon. Rotary Club business is scheduled to conclude by 12:15 p.m. at which time the Mayor will be introduced. The speech is expected to begin at 12:20 p.m. and will last approximately 30 minutes.

###

Are you now - or have you ever been - a terrorist?

2012-01-10T09:05:00.006-05:00

A friend was renewing his Ohio aircraft registration and mentioned a form that he was required to fill out, affirming that he's not a terrorist and hasn't helped any designated terrorist organizations.

It's known as the Declaration Regarding Material Assistance/Non- Assistance to a Terrorist Organization (DMA) form and it contains the following questions to which you're supposed to check a yes or no box:

1. Are you a member of an organization on the U.S. Department of State Terrorist Exclusion List?

2. Have you used any position of prominence you have with any country to persuade others to support an organization on the U.S. Department of State Terrorist Exclusion List?

3. Have you knowingly solicited funds or other things of value for an organization on the U.S. Department of State Terrorist Exclusion List?

4. Have you solicited any individual for membership on an organization on the U.S. Department of State Terrorist Exclusion List?

5. Have you committed an act that you know, or reasonably should have known, affords “material support or resources” to an organization on the U.S. Department of State Terrorist Exclusion List?

6. Have you hired or compensated a person you know to be a member of an organization on the U.S. Department of State Terrorist Exclusion List, or a person you knew to be engaged in planning, assisting, or carrying out an act of terrorism?

Seriously - if you're a terrorist, are you actually going to answer 'yes' to any of these questions?

If you've "hired or compensated" a person you "knew to be engaged in planning, assisting, or carrying out an act of terrorism," are you going to admit it by answering yes to question #6?!?

The form is ridiculous. It requires the time of the applicant to fill out and countless hours (and wages) of probably thousands of public employees to create, maintain and publish the form; accept, review and maintain the filled out forms; and - maybe, though doubtful - follow up on the information contained in the complete form.

And it doesn't do anything to make our nation safer since anyone engaged in any of the actions questioned wouldn't admit to it.

In other news, Unauthorized Plane Flown By "Egyptian Students" Lands in Gainesville

Futility thy name is the U.S. Government - and yes, this definitely qualifies for 'stuck-on-stupid' status!

p.s. Do you wonder how many other such forms might exist in our various layers of government - and the waste they entail by their requirement?

Are leftists just plain mean?

2012-01-10T08:58:00.002-05:00

From this column, Leftism Makes You Meaner, by Dennis Prager:

Because leftism fills many of its adherents with contempt and hatred. It takes a person of great character and self-control to continually imbibe and mouth the mantras of the left -- that everyone on the right is sexist, intolerant, xenophobic, homophobic, islamophobic, racist and bigoted -- and not become a meaner human being. If I believed just about everyone with left-wing views was despicable, I would be meaner, too.

He concludes with this:

Leftists' meanness toward those with whom they differ has no echo on the normative right. Those on the left need to do some soul-searching. Because as long as they continue to believe that people on the right are not merely wrong but vile, they will get increasingly mean. The problem for the left, however, is that the moment it stops painting the right as vile, it has to argue the issues.

Do you agree?

Finkbeiner, Ford criticize Mayor Bell; embarass themselves in the process

2012-01-10T07:12:00.004-05:00

Former mayors Carty Finkbeiner and Jack Ford, neither of whom distinguished themselves positively during their terms on the 22nd floor of Government Center, criticized current Mayor Mike Bell over his handling of issues in the Department of Neighborhoods.

According to both these politicians, the firings of Kattie Bond and Mike Badik are wrong - for some reason. You see, the two former mayors didn't have any problems with these two people when they employed them. They found them to be honest and good workers, with Finkbeiner going so far as to say he had "no knowledge" of any wrong-doings in the Dept. of Neighborhoods. So obviously, Bell must be wrong to fire them.

Of course, neither politician has the results of the investigation which is still on-going, so they can't possible know what Mayor Bell has found. They don't know any details; they don't know what facts Bell has found; and they don't know what, if any, evidence exists of mistakes or lack of oversight by these two employees. In fact, they know nothing. But that didn't stop them, just like when they were mayor, of forming an opinion and holding a press conference.

Finkbeiner had the temerity to tell Bell to "be a man" and take responsibility. Yes, this from a person who threw a coffee cup at a subordinate, left his dog in his hot car and has faced continued rumors of abuse of his wife.

Ford actually accused Bell of making these decisions to 'please The Blade,' the local daily newspaper. I had to get out the duct tape and wind it around my head so it wouldn't explode at that one.

Mayor Bell, acting responsibly, made himself available to the press following the Finkbeiner and Ford statements. In response to Finkbeiner's claim that he needed to 'man-up' said that's exactly what he was doing. He made decisions to change the direction the department was going; is holding people accountable for their actions; is not 'kicking the can down the road' but actually dealing with the situation in a timely and up-front manner and, despite taking such criticism, is standing by the decisions which he believes are right.

Talk about being a man.

For the record, I don't know any details of the investigation either and many people have said that Bond and Badick are honest individuals and highly trustworthy. Several people I know and trust said they don't believe these two did anything wrong.

I don't personally know Bond and Badik, but I do know Mike Bell and I know what it's like to oversee a large operation and to have no faith in the people you have in charge of a department. If these two knew what was going on and did nothing about it, their firing is justified. If they were in charge and didn't know what was going on, I'd have to question: why not?!?

Finkbeiner said Bell needed to take responsibility - but at the same time, he said that Bond and Badik needed to have no responsibility for what was going on under their watch. Talk about a double standard - but that's common from Finkbeiner.

In the end, Bond and Badik are at-will employees of the Mayor. Bell has decided to make a change in the leadership in that department. That is his prerogative, one his two predecessors routinely practiced - for much less valid reasons.

Quote of the Day - Bill of Rights

2012-01-10T06:48:00.001-05:00

"In my judgment the people of no nation can lose their liberty so long as a Bill of Rights like ours survives and its basic purposes are conscientiously interpreted, enforced and respected so as to afford continuous protection against old, as well as new, devices and practices which might thwart those purposes. I fear to see the consequences of the Court's practice of substituting its own concepts of decency and fundamental justice for the language of the Bill of Rights as its point of departure in interpreting and enforcing that Bill of Rights." ~ Justice Hugo L. Black

Quote of the Day - how liberty dies

2012-01-08T06:42:00.003-05:00

With all that is going on in Washington - a President who is applauded for doing an end-run around Congress, agencies that have no accountability to our elected representatives or even subject to judicial review, and the endless spending that our representatives have no willpower to stop - I thought this quote from Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith highly appropriate.

In case you've never seen the movie, the Galactic Senate decides to elevate the evil Sith Lord Chancellor Palpatine to the position of Emperor. Padme, a representative, is appalled and, as the members of the Senate all clap, says:

"So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause."

I can't help but wonder if we won't look back on this one day and recognize this as the beginning of the end of our "grand experiment" - though I hope not.

New blog roll links

2012-01-07T10:11:00.002-05:00

After attending several conferences and meeting a bunch of new bloggers, I've updated my list of links with their blog sites. I hope you'll take a few moments to look over the list and click on them - they're all good writers with interesting points of view (even if I don't always agree with them) and you'll be much better off for reading them on a regular basis.

Enjoy!

Why the GOP is fighting the CFPB

2012-01-07T08:24:00.006-05:00

If you want to know why the Republicans in the Senate were fighting against the nomination of Richard Cordray to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, thus halting the new agency from beginning its work, this snippet from Jonah Goldberg's column, An Imperial Sham, tells you everything you need to know:

The CFPB is a constitutional affront, the crowning achievement of this White House's mantra of never letting a crisis go to waste.

The agency has the power to regulate any practices it deems "unfair" -- primarily the practices of institutions and businesses that had nothing whatsoever to do with the financial crisis.

Indeed, it has blank-check power to write the rules it wants to enforce. Worse, it cannot be reined in by Congress, because Dodd-Frank gave it a self-funding mechanism. It can simply take up to 12 percent of the Federal Reserve's operating expenses to do whatever it wants. The power of Congress is ultimately the power of the purse. But in their finite wisdom, Democratic lawmakers gelded themselves. They also insulated the rogue agency from the courts, requiring that judges defer to the CFPB's legal theories.

So it has no accountability to Congress and even the courts won't be able to rein it in or restrict it any way.

But that's not all. Despite what Pres. Obama is saying about being blocked by Republicans, even Democrats recognize the problems and have supported the exact changes Republicans are pushing for, as Michelle Malkin explains:

As Senate Republicans have been pointing out for months, Dodd-Frank threw out judicial review, removed CFPB from the congressional appropriations process, provided five-year tenure protection for the director and transferred the agency from the Treasury Department to the opaque and unaccountable Federal Reserve.

Obama and Democratic leaders themselves recognize the recklessness of vesting so much unfettered power in a single individual. In 2009, Obama floated a bipartisan board to oversee enforcement. Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Charles Schumer of New York and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island all co-sponsored legislation backing a commission. Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Barney Frank was also an original sponsor of a bill creating the very kind of five-member panel Republicans have proposed.

The House passed these and other structural reforms last year, but the Senate has failed to act, and the White House insists on demagoguing reformers. Moreover, taxpayers remain in the dark about how and how much the CFPB is spending, because Dodd-Frank allows the agency to draw funds from the Federal Reserve's operating expenses. Out of sight, out of mind.

...

It's about consolidating bureaucratic authority and granting unprecedented immunity to a single super-cop from congressional and public oversight.

This agency will NOT be a protector of consumers - not when its existence and structure is an affront to the Constitution.

Government is supposed to protect our God-given liberties. Any agency with this much power and control - and no checks from the judicial branch - will end up a tyrant, not a protector, as its beginnings are proving.

Quote of the Day - Obama's failure on NLRB appointments

2012-01-06T15:48:00.005-05:00

President Barack Obama made two 'recess' appointments to the National Labor Relations Board - though they weren't really recess appointments.

From this Daily Caller article comes today's QOTD:

“It’s hard to argue that the Senate was obstructing these Democratic nominees when they don’t even appear on the administration’s own list of nominations and appointments,” U.S. Chamber of Commerce labor policy specialist Glenn Spencer told The Daily Caller.

What makes the appointments worse is that the nominees haven't even passed their background checks yet!

Talk about a stupid, amateurish, bush-league mistake.

Unemployment rate vs. the number employed

2012-01-06T09:02:00.007-05:00

The December unemployment rate is out and - SURPRISE!!! - it's down to 8.5%. Isn't that just wonderful? Think of all the people who now have jobs.

Actually, the percent of people participating in the labor force (those who actually have jobs) was unchanged at 64%. So if the percent of people employed stayed the same, how did the unemployment rate go down?

These are just statistics and unless you truly understand what they're measuring and how they're calculated, it means little, especially if you're one of the people still without a job.

As a commissioner, every month I checked the employment information put out by the state of Ohio. What I found is that unemployment rates went up and down and, because they're a result of dividing two numbers, the better thing to watch was the actual numbers and not the calculations.

Ohio's report, Civilian Labor Force Estimates, lists the number of people in the labor force, the number of people employed and then calculates the number of people unemployed by subtracting the second number from the first. They then divide the number of unemployed by the total in the labor force and end up with an unemployment rate.

For November 2011, Lucas County had 216,600 in the labor force and 198,100 employed leaving 18,500 without work for an unemployment rate of 8.5%. December numbers have not yet been released.

Toledo is one of the cities that the state tracks. They had 142,400 in the labor force and 129,600 employed leaving 12,800 without work resulting in an unemployment rate of 9.0%.

But the state also has a search tool on their website where you can get these same numbers for the whole year - and that's where the numbers get interesting.

This chart (click for a larger view) shows the civilian labor force (CFL) for Lucas County for 2011:

You can see how the number of people in the labor market varies greatly over just a year.

This chart shows the number of people employed in Lucas County for 2011:

Yes, there were roughly 5,000 more people working in November than there were in January of last year, but the November figure is less than the number working in the months of April, May, June, August, September and October.

And yet the unemployment rate for those six months was HIGHER than it was for November.

How can we have fewer people working and still have a decrease in the unemployment rate?

The only way the unemployment rate went down, despite having fewer people employed, is because the base number - the number of people in the labor force - went down, as the first chart demonstrates.

We went from a high of 221,900 in the labor force down to 216,600. And even though November had 200 less people employed than August (198,100 vs. 198,300), the unemployment rate dropped from August's rate of 10.0% to November's rate of 8.5%.

Clearly, a difference of 200 people actually working does not result in a drop of 1.5%. But it does if the base number (CLF) also goes down.

August:
220,400 Civilian Labor force
- 198,300 employed
_________
22,100 unemployed for an unemployment rate of 10.0%

November:
216,600 Civilian Labor Force
- 198,100 employed (roughly the same number as August)
_________
18,500 unemployed for an unemployment rate of 8.5%

See how easy it is to manipulate the unemployment rate simply by lowering or raising the labor force number?

This also applies to the national unemployment rate, since the rates are calculated the same way.

I realize this is a lot of numbers, but it's important to know how unemployment rates are calculated and what is behind the numbers. That way, you won't come to a wrong conclusion based only upon the results of the calculation (unemployment rate) or what the politicians and talking heads tell you it means.

After publishing this post, I found this article (posted after mine) which makes the same argument:

Real Jobless Rate Is 11.4% With Realistic Labor Force Participation Rate

One does not need to be a rocket scientist to grasp the fudging the BLS has been doing every month for years now in order to bring the unemployment rate lower: the BLS constantly lowers the labor force participation rate as more and more people "drop out" of the labor force for one reason or another.

Maybe we are starting to get it.

Toledo introduces new budget program for utility bills

2012-01-05T11:32:00.003-05:00

follow up press release:

Toledo Introduces Voluntary Monthly Budget Program for Utility Bills

In response to customer requests, the City of Toledo’s Department of Public Utilities (DPU) is now offering a voluntary, monthly budget program for the payment of utility bills. Toledo utility bills cover the cost of supplying water, disposal of water, storm water disposal and refuse pickup.

Letters are being mailed explaining the program. Each letter contains 12 monthly stubs to help customers voluntarily pay their utility bills on a monthly basis. All residential customers, who receive a utility bill directly from the City of Toledo, are eligible to participate.

“The Public Utilities Department has devised a way to help customers avoid the large utility bills that come in the mail every three months,” said Mayor Mike Bell, “and to provide this service at no additional cost to consumers who have been asking for such a program for a very long time.”

The program, as explained by DPU Director David E. Welch, allows customers to make a voluntary, monthly payment by mail or in person to DPU. The amount paid voluntarily during the first two months of a three-month billing period will be subtracted from the amount owed at the end of the quarter. Customers will continue to receive quarterly bills in the mail.

“One of the great things about this voluntary monthly program is that it’s flexible. You can pay any amount you want during the first two months of a billing period,” Welch said. “However,” he cautioned, “customers must pay the amount of the quarterly bill they receive in the mail by the due date for their water, sewer and refuse services to remain current.”

The DPU Director offered this program overview.

Customers will begin receiving letters shortly that will explain how the program operates and will include 12 monthly stubs.

Eight of the stubs indicate a suggested amount to be paid monthly during the first two months of the quarterly billing period, based on the customer’s water usage during 2011.

The four remaining stubs remind customers to watch for their quarterly utility bill in the mail. This bill will reflect the total utility charges for the quarter just passed and will show the amount of monthly, voluntary payments the customer made in the period.

The customer will be required to pay the final adjusted amount to keep service current.

“The one thing that hasn’t changed,” Welch said, “is the need to pay your utility bill in full at the end of every billing period. The amount you pay voluntarily during the first two months of the billing period is flexible. As long as the customer makes the payment shown on their bill at the end of the billing period, everything will be fine,” Welch said.

The director also said customers are not required to participate in the program, nor is a stub required to accompany every voluntary payment. However, all voluntary payments should contain the customer’s account number to ensure the payment is credited correctly.

According to Welch, “This is a completely voluntary program. Customers are not locked into the monthly program once they begin and can return to quarterly billing at any time without penalty and with no need to notify the department. The most important thing for customers to remember is that quarterly bills must be paid on time.”

Welch said participants do not have to register to participate, nor do they have to call to sign up.

“We’re confident, once consumers use this program, they’ll find it will help them greatly to manage their monthly budgets and avoid large quarterly utility bills,” Mayor Bell said.

Information concerning the program has been posted on the City’s Web site, www.toledo.oh.gov. Customers also can call DPU’s customer service with questions at 419-245-1800.

###

Two very important facts to remember about Obama's 'recess' appointments

2012-01-05T08:33:00.005-05:00

Two very important and critical facts to remember about President Barack Obama's 'recess' appointments of Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and three nominees to the National Labor Relations Board:

1) Congress is NOT in recess!

Yes, the President does have the ability to make recess appointments, meaning that people serve in his cabinet without the "advice and consent" of Congress - a Constitutional mandate.

However, there is no authority to make an appointment when Congress is still in session. Doing so violates the oath the President took to uphold the Constitution, and is contrary to the procedures designed to serve as a check-and-balance between the branches of government.

The current definition of 'recess' is when Congress is officially not in session for more than three days. Through a procedural action used by Democrats (and supported by then Sen. Obama) when they were trying to prevent President George W. Bush from making recess appointments, the Congress continues to hold "pro forma" sessions every three days. This policy, and the standard of three days, was supported by Democrats as well as Pres. Obama's own administration official, former Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal.

Katyal, during arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2010, responded to a question about why the President could not bring the NLRB to full strength through a recess appointment by saying, “I think our office has opined the recess has to be longer than three days.”

Between 2007 and the end of his term, Pres. Bush made no recess appointments because the Democrat-controlled House and Senate did not go into recess and, instead, held "pro forma" sessions specifically to prevent such appointments. Unlike our current President, Pres. Bush did not whine and complain and decide to circumvent the Constitution in order to get his way.

In fact, a president hasn’t made a recess appointment during a Senate break of fewer than three days since 1949, according to Betty Koed, an associate Senate historian.

The outrageous hypocrisy of the President and Democrats who supported this procedure in order to prevent a Republican from making recess appointments, but who now praise the violation because it's being done by a Democrat, is simply astounding! And the failure of the media to point out the hypocrisy and double standard is unconscionable and certainly a dereliction of their duty to the public.

2) There are good and valid reasons these people have not been approved by the Senate!

Pres. Obama had warned us that if Congress didn't do what he wanted, he'd go ahead with out them. Despite the clear unconstitutionality (and perhaps impeach-ability) of such actions, we should have believed him. He's out to "fundamentally change" our nation and what better way to do so than to ignore and flaunt the Constitutional mandates placed upon him?

In response to the announcements, United Steel Workers president Leo Gerard said:

"Republicans left the President with no choice but to recess appoint these four people, three to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and one to direct the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. President Obama showed today that he will use every means at his disposal to circumvent Republican opposition to safeguarding workers and consumers."

The SEIU, on the NLRB appointments, stated:

The appointments bypasses the predictable Republican filibusters or other obstructionist measures they would employ. There is no doubt that if given the shot, the GOP would have done away with the Board entirely, probably the very worst thing working families need right now.

Note the future tense: "measures they would employ."

The fact of the matter is that Pres. Obama only submitted the names for the NLRB on December 15th. The Senate has not, as far as I could tell, even held a hearing on two of them: International Union of Operating Engineers General Counsel Richard Griffin and former attorney to Ted Kennedy, Sharon Block.

As Moe Lane writes:

They have not been in point of fact filibustered; the question hasn’t even arisen yet, given that it’s been all of nineteen days since the names were submitted and a huge chunk of that time was the Christmas/New Year’s break. I’ve heard of… anticipation, but that’s just absurd. If you’re going to try to paint the opposition party as obstructionists, common courtesy dictates that you at least give the opposition party a chance to actually obstruct. Otherwise you’re just being silly.

One hopes that the President is not going to make a habit of this sort of thing…

PS: What’s that I hear? “The GOP was going to obstruct anyway, so it’s perfectly all right for the President to get it over with quickly!” …Do tell. And God, but do I feel sorry for the wife of any man making that particular argument…

So at least for the NLRB, the Congress hasn't even had a chance to act on the nominations, putting lie to the claim that Pres. Obama had to act because of a "do-nothing" Congress or obstruction by the Republicans.

When it comes to the Cordray appointment, the issue has been over the CFPB itself and its accountability, as well as scope of authority.

Pres. Obama nominated Cordray in July and his confirmation was blocked by Republicans only last month. In what has been a stalemate with Pres. Obama, the Republicans have blocked the confirmation as a way to prevent the new agency from being fully operational because they believe the consumer agency's powers are too broad.

CFPB was created under the Frank-Dodd bill, which says the CFPB can't commence operations until after its head is confirmed by the Senate, as Ohio Sen. Rob Portman explains:

The irony is that while this recess appointment may advance the White House’s political goals, it does nothing to advance the work of the CFPB. The statute creating the CFPB makes clear that only Senate confirmation of a Director – not a recess appointment – can activate the new powers of this agency to regulate consumer transactions with Main Street businesses.

As I have said many times, this is not about Rich Cordray, who I believe is a good public servant. Long before he was nominated to be CFPB Director, I expressed my strong concerns about the impact this new regulator would have on all of us as consumers, on job creation, and on our economy, and recommended some commonsense reforms. No other federal regulator has so much authority over personal economic decisions, with so little responsibility to answer to the American people and their elected representatives. These concerns -- voiced by 44 Senators -- cannot be addressed if the White House continues to refuse to work together despite my and others' efforts to reach out to them to find a way forward.

Contrary to the President's claim, the Congress isn't doing 'nothing.' It is, in fact, doing something: taking seriously its charge to advise and consent. Pres. Obama, not liking the advice and not getting his consent, is acting like a child in going ahead anyway.

Of course, he believes that 'standing up to Republicans' and painting himself as 'trying against a do-nothing Congress' is going to help him in the 2012 election - and he may be right politically.

But it's certainly wrong for our nation and our future to blatantly ignore the checks and balances and separation of powers in our Constitution for some hoped-for political advantage.

New option for paying Toledo water bills planned

2012-01-04T18:29:00.003-05:00

Press Release:

Toledo’s Department of Public Utilities Announces Unique, Voluntary Monthly Budget Program for Utility Bills

Program enables customers to make advance payments

Toledo Mayor Michael P. Bell and Director of Public Utilities David E. Welch will announce a new, unique program enabling residential customers receiving City of Toledo utility bills to make voluntary, monthly payments at a press conference at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, January 5, 2012 in the lobby of the Ohio Building, 420 Madison Avenue.

Letters will be mailed soon informing customers of the program. Each letter will contain 12 stubs to help customers make the voluntary payments. While the stubs will suggest a monthly amount based on the customer’s past water usage, the customer can make a payment of any amount at any time in between quarterly bills.

Customers will continue to receive a utility bill in the mail every three months. These quarterly bills will reflect any advance payments made and will show the balance due. Customers are required to pay the final amount shown on their quarterly bill to remain current.

What: City of Toledo announces Voluntary Monthly Budget Program for utility bills

When: 10:30 a.m., Thursday, January 5, 2012

Where: Ohio Building Lobby, 420 Madison Ave.

Available: Mayor Michael P. Bell, Director of Public Utilities David E. Welch

###

Debt now exceeds GDP - and the spending continues

2012-01-04T08:16:00.007-05:00

"With devotion's visage and pious action we do sugar o'er the devil himself." ~ William Shakespeare

I thought this quote particularly appropriate to this Drudge Report headline:

US Closes 2011 With Record $15.22 Trillion In Debt, Officially At 100.3% Debt/GDP

From the article:

"...according to the US Treasury, America has closed the books on 2011 with debt at an all time record $15,222,940,045,451.09. And, as was observed here first in all of the press, US debt to GDP is now officially over 100%, or 100.3% to be specific, a fact which the US government decided to delay exposing until the very end of the calendar year. We wonder, rhetorically, just how prominent of a talking point this historic event will be in any upcoming GOP primary debates."

Interestingly, according to this chart, our government debt is now about the same as Italy's, which is running about 115%. Remember, too, that Pres. Barack Obama has asked for another debt ceiling increase of $1.2 trillion - though he did decide today to delay that request until both houses of Congress are back in session.

In case you're not really sure what this means, you can think of the problem in very simple terms: how much the government owes (debt) versus how much the country is producing (Gross Domestic Product). GDP is the market value of all goods and services we produce in our country within a single year.

So if the government taxed everything we make (EVERYTHING) in a single year at a 100% rate, it wouldn't be able to raise enough money to pay the debt. Of course, doing that would basically be the government confiscating everything, leaving nothing for us.

Now I realize that such a tax rate is not going to happen - at least, not overnight. And I also realize that much of what the government owes isn't yet due to be paid. But just like in a household budget, you know that, eventually, the bills come due.

Rick Santelli does a good comparison in this short video clip where he simplifies the national budget and debt problem using a family budget analogy:

As Santelli states, "We're not trying hard enough."

In fact, I'd say that our government officials aren't trying at all. They bicker over nickles and dimes all while voting in favor of stupid spending that is completely unnecessary and certainly not authorized by the Constitution. A quick look at Sen. Tom Coburn's Wastebook 2011 proves that, as these examples show:

• $75,000 to promote awareness about the role Michigan plays in producing Christmas trees & poinsettias.

• $15.3 million for one of the infamous Bridges to Nowhere in Alaska.

• $113,227 for video game preservation center in New York.

• $550,000 for a documentary about how rock music contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

• $48,700 for 2nd annual Hawaii Chocolate Festival, to promote Hawaii’s chocolate industry.

• $350,000 to support an International Art Exhibition in Venice, Italy.

• $10 million for a remake of “Sesame Street” for Pakistan.

• $35 million allocated for political party conventions in 2012.

• $765,828 to subsidize “pancakes for yuppies” in the nation’s capital.

• $764,825 to study how college students use mobile devices for social networking.

Really??? We're actually spending money for such nonsense???

Wake up, America! This is insanity and certainly qualifies for 'stuck-on-stupid' designation. Unless we elect people who aren't afraid of the truth and are willing to actually STOP spending, we're going to end up worse that Greece.

Quote of the Day - pessimism vs. optimism

2012-01-03T08:47:00.003-05:00

Marc Faber, market analyst and publisher of "Gloom, Boom and Doom Report" newsletter, recently made the following statement on CNBC:

"I am a great optimist in life; otherwise I would commit suicide in view of the kind of governments we have nowadays."

Pretty scary, huh?

As Mike Scully, who blogs at LibertyInsight.com, wrote here:

The fact that we optimists are so pessimistic about the economy should cause you to take notice and ask if maybe there is something to all this gloom and doom after all.

That may seem like a paradox. If you listen to the financial news, those of us who have been predicting that the economy is on the verge of collapse are "gloom and doomers" who are just negative people. When we say that the Greek debt crisis can't be resolved with more bailouts and that default is inevitable, they call us defeatists. When we point out that America's economy is as bad as or worse than the problems in Europe and that the only solutions to get us out of this mess are currently politically impossible, they say we have no faith in America.

In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. We economic "gloom and doomers" are simply realists who understand the nature of the crisis based on Austrian economic principles. Our thirst for the truth has led us to question the Keynesian economic theories taught in our schools and propagated in the media, which sound sensible on the surface, but fall apart under logical scrutiny. This Austrian understanding of business cycles and the nature of money and human action tells us that unsustainable debts cannot be sustained, and that a debt-based fiat-money system that can't go on forever, won't.

So who are the optimists and who are the defeatists?

A new 'IDEA' on illegal immigration

2012-01-02T09:29:00.003-05:00

I'm intrigued by this approach to illegal immigration from Rep. Steve King from Iowa’s 5th congressional district. Wondering what you think of it, as detailed here:

New IDEA (HR-3720) states explicitly that wages and benefits paid to illegals are not tax deductible. It gives employers “safe harbor” if they use the Internet-based E-Verify program to verify legal status during their hiring process, but it does not require them to do so. During a normal audit, the IRS would run employees’ I-9 identification information through the E-Verify program; whenever a worker could not be verified as a lawful employee, the IRS would not allow the deduction of that employee’s wages and benefits as a business expense. This would be, in effect, a tax or penalty on the employment of illegal immigrants. For example, a $10-per-hour illegal employee would cost $16 an hour without the normal tax deductions. With a six-year accumulated statute of limitations, employers will calculate the inevitability of an eventual audit and use E-Verify to clean up their work forces, whether abruptly or incrementally.

New IDEA also requires the IRS to set up a cooperative team with the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration. Illegal employees often pay into Social Security under false Social Security numbers, creating thousands of “no match” letters from the Social Security Administration. This massive evidence of illegal employment is often ignored. Homeland Security needs this “no match” information to enforce the law, and the executive branch requires a clear directive from Congress.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T23:55:00.000-05:00

Goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012 - hope it's a better year for all of us!

Links discussed while filling in on WSPD

2011-12-31T08:08:00.003-05:00

Here is the link to the podcast of my interview with C.L. Bryant about his upcoming movie Runaway Slave.

Tom Blumer who writes at BizzyBlog, PJ Media and Newsbusters, expounds on the top media bias stories of 2011, as we discussed, as well as other examples of media malfeasance.

Here are the 2012 predictions from WSPD listeners:

* Steve in Slyvania - predicts no shortage of Toledo city council stupidity (but how to judge?)

* Bob - predicts it will be illegal to talk on cell phones in vehicles in Ohio - even with hands-free technology

* Tim Higgins - Blade will cease 7-day print publication - probably go to a 3-4 day/week publication...Saturday is a dead publication day and Wednesday is coupon - drop so predicts Saturday and maybe Tuesday or Thursday will no longer have daily papers

* Mike in Oregon - SB5 opponents will call to task all Republicans who voted for the bill and the Democrats will take the Ohio as a result.

Filling in on WSPD - today's guests and topics

2011-12-29T07:31:00.006-05:00

I'm filling in again for Brian Wilson on 1370 WSPD from 3-6 p.m. and I wanted to share with you some information about the guests we'll have on the show.

At 4:30, Tom Blumer, an Ohio blogger who writes at BizzyBlog and Newsbusters, will join us to discuss the top media bias stories of 2011.

At 5 p.m. we'll talk to C.L. Bryant about his conversion to conservatism and his soon-to-be-released documentary movie Runaway Slave.

Rev. Bryant, from Louisiana, has a Master's in Theology and is a licensed and ordained Baptist minister and pastor. He was the president of an NAACP chapter in Garland, Texas, and was a self-professed “Democratic Radical” who "now believes the values that he once vehemently upheld has led the Black community into a state of bondage to the US government."

Clearly unafraid to talk religion and politics, C.L. is not only a Tea Party Patriot but he is a charter member of the Red River Tea Party and Shreveport/Bossier Tea Party, co-founder of the Desoto Parish Grassroots, founder of the national movement One Nation Back to God (www.onenationbacktoGod.com) and Fellow with FreedomWorks in Washington, D.C. Added to this illustrious list of achievements is independent filmmaker of the documentary Runaway Slave. Runaway Slave is a movie about the race to free the Black community from the slavery of tyranny and progressive policies.

We'll also take your calls and your predictions for what 2012 will hold for us.

Other topics to consider include the upcoming increase in minimum wage requirements in Ohio and other states, and the accepted practice of public sector union members performing union work while on the clock and being paid by the taxpayers.

Hope you'll join us at 1370 WSPD or via I Heart Radio beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern.

Quote of the Day - surrender to government

2011-12-29T07:29:00.000-05:00

"Communism and fascism or nazism, although poles apart in their intellectual content, are similar in this, that both have emotional appeal to the type of personality that takes pleasure in being submerged in a mass movement and submitting to superior authority." ~ James A. C. Brown

Links discussed while filling in on WSPD

2011-12-28T07:21:00.003-05:00

In case you wanted to read the actual articles, here are links to the items we discussed yesterday when I filled in on WSPD:

FAA and the arrogance/hubris of a federal government that thinks it can do whatever it wants and interfere in everything:

FAA clears Santa's sleigh

We're apparently too stupid to understand how calories and fat grams work, so researchers are wondering if we'll 'make better choices' if the nutrition labels say how much exercise it would take to burn off the calories of an item.

Link

Emails of New York City officials that reveal how their 'Pouring on the Pounds' advertising campaign against soda drinks was designed to scare people into not drinking soda, regardless of the fact that there was no scientific basis for their claims. This also demonstrates how a government that is charged with regulating false advertising won't be able to police itself.

Link

On snorting Smarties candies:

Educators worried by rise of students who snort crushed candy

CBS correspondent Nancy Cordes thinks it a bad thing when elected officials actually KEEP the promises they made during their campaign for office:

CBS's Cordes Blames Tea Party for No 'Remarkable Pieces of Legislation'

And for caller Jack, who stated that solar was as competitive an energy source as coal and claimed, incorrectly, that I was pushing coal power over solar (I'm an 'all of the above' supporter when it comes to tapping our own natural resources for fuel and energy needs), here is an article that documents the cost per kilowatt hour of the various sources of energy.

Comparing energy Costs of Nuclear, Coal, Gas, Wind and Solar

It is interesting to note that, for solar, they couldn't include all the costs because some are still unknown and even without those additional costs solar is in the $.20-.25/kWh range while coal is in the $.02-.04/kWh range.

That, Jack, is NOT competitive!

Quote of the Day - slippery slope

2011-12-27T08:49:00.001-05:00

This quote is timely in terms of the items we'll be discussing this afternoon when I fill in on 1370 WSPD.

"Do the people of this land…desire to preserve those [liberties] protected by the First Amendment… If so, let them withstand all beginnings of encroachment. For the saddest epitaph which can be carved in memory of a vanquished liberty is that it was lost because its possessors failed to stretch for a saving hand while yet there was time." ~ George Sutherland, U.S. Supreme Court Justice

Filling in on WSPD

2011-12-26T06:59:00.002-05:00

I'll be filling in on 1370 WSPD this week - Tuesday and Thursday - covering the Afternoon Drive from 3-6 p.m.

On Wednesday, the University of Toledo Rockets will play in the Military Bowl against Air Force. The pre-game starts at 2:30 p.m. and the kickoff is at 4:30 p.m.

I hope you'll join me - and if you're not in the area, you can listen live here, or on your smart phone at I Heart Radio.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T08:16:00.002-05:00

I'm taking the weekend off to celebrate Christmas with my family and friends.

Our holiday tradition starts with a Christmas Eve Open House at our home. We've done this for years - invited family and friends who are in town to stop by for 2 minutes or 2 hours, to say hello, have some food and drink and enjoy each other's company.

We watch the constant running of A Christmas Story and have the computer on to follow along as NORAD tracks Santa's journey around the earth. We pull out our board games for the kids and open (and drink!) some of Sam's homemade champagne.

Some years, we've had over 75 people stop by. Other years, there have been only about 10 of us ... it all depends on who is in town and what else is going on. But regardless of the numbers, it is our Christmas Eve tradition made better by the presence of family and friends.

Sam and I do Christmas morning just the two of us and then my family joins us for Christmas Brunch. This year, I'm trying a new recipe of duck accompanied by a cauliflower gratin (yes, I'm one of those who try new recipes at holidays without practicing first). For Christmas Day Dinner, we'll head up to the Thurber complex for appetizers, drinks, dinner and dessert with all of Sam's family - usually around 30 of us - followed by intriguing conversations and, if custom holds, cards.

I love these celebrations, despite the work they entail, and look forward to them every year.

I hope your holiday traditions are something that you, too, cherish and that your Christmas weekend will be filled with the love of family and friends - and that Santa is good to you!

Quote of the Day - union president vs Obama and oil pipeline

2011-12-22T21:20:00.002-05:00

From this article by John Ransom:

Terry O’Sullivan, General President of LIUNA – the Laborers’ International Union of North America has recently blasted Obama for double dealing against American jobs on behalf of the enviro-whackos like he did on the Keystone Oil Pipeline. O’Sullivan represents pipefitters and others who would be employed on the Keystone project.

“Environmentalists formed a circle around the White House and within days the Obama Administration chose to inflict a potentially fatal delay to a project that is not just a pipeline,” said O’Sullivan when Obama punted on the pipeline project to side with whackos over workers, “but is a lifeline for thousands of desperate working men and women. The Administration chose to support environmentalists over jobs – job-killers win, American workers lose. Environmental groups from the Natural Resources Defense Council to the Sierra Club may be dancing in the streets, having delayed and possibly stopped yet another project that would put men and women back to work. While they celebrate, pipeline workers will continue to lose their homes and livelihoods.”

Merry Christmas, Mr. Obama. You should be proud.

Vaclav Havel vs. Kim Jong Il

2011-12-21T07:21:00.002-05:00

The world lost two leaders this past week and while most of us know about the death of Kim Jong Il of North Korea, I doubt many of us have heard that Vaclav Havel also passed away.

Who, you ask?

That's the point. Certainly, political unstability in North Korea has security implications for the United States which makes it highly newsworthy, but the life and positive impact of Vaclav Havel shouldn't be obscured by the death of a dictator.

Havel, the hero of has become known as Czechoslovakia's 'Velvet Revolution,' died Sunday. He was 75 years old. He was often described as one of the 20th Century's greatest freedom fighters after liberating his nation from communism and serving as its president from 1989 to 2003.

Investors Business Daily had this to say in their editorial:

Leadership: Europe's outpouring of grief over the death of Vaclav Havel, hero of Czechoslovakia's great Velvet Revolution, says much about its longing for more like him. His honesty and courage liberated Europe.

Some 75,000 Czechs bearing roses and candles lined up in Wenceslas Square beginning Sunday, as they once did in 1989, to pay tribute to one of the greatest freedom fighters of the 20th century

...

Havel, a playwright whose health had been weakened by years spent in communist dungeons, was an unlikely and yet perfect leader for leading Eastern Europe's liberation from communism. He unshackled Europe with the only weapon in his arsenal — words, which he animated and empowered by expressing them truthfully.

In the former Czechoslovakia, the nightmare of communism imposed after World War II was employed with a Nazi-like oppressive intensity, leaving a bleak society whose citizens got by on lies, collaboration, mediocrity and ratlike survival ethics.

"We live in a contaminated moral environment. We fell morally ill because we became used to saying something different from what we thought. We learned not to believe in anything, to ignore each other, to care only about ourselves. Concepts such as love, friendship, compassion, humility, or forgiveness lost their depth and dimensions. ... Only a few of us were able to cry out loud that the powers that be should not be all-powerful," Havel told his nation after being elected the first president of the restored democracy in December 1989.

...

Condemned from birth as a "bourgeois element," Havel was always an outsider who could never become a "new communist man" or a cog in the machine of "progress." Denied admission to university, denied jobs, denied permission to leave the country, spied on by secret police and refused liberty in prison beginning in 1979, he managed to free his country by standing up for freedom against all odds.

It was an incredible dream then — because right up until the end, no one believed communism would ever fall. Havel's Velvet Revolution changed that, as first a few thousand, and then a few hundred thousand flooded the streets calling for the regime's end — and the move spread like wildfire through Europe and eventually hit the gates of Moscow.

Havel's peaceful revolution, unlike almost any other, left all oppressive regimes — to this very day — uncertain about their self-declared permanence.

...

And yet, Havel himself said that standing up for freedom was the only choice.

"Humanity will pay the price for communism until such a time as we learn to stand up to it with all political responsibility and decisiveness," he said...

So while the world watches the tyrannical monarchy that North Korea appears to be (with a third generation ready to take over ruling that country), let us take time to remember a true leader who did more for the world than any dictator ever could.

Quote of the Day - gospel of Karl Marx

2011-12-21T07:10:00.002-05:00

Today's quote is especially scary to me because, while describing the 'gospel of Karl Marx, I couldn't help but notice how similar it is to the message coming from our President, Barack Obama, who people say isn't a Marxist.

"The whole gospel of Karl Marx can be summed up in a single sentence: Hate the man who is better off than you are. Never under any circumstances admit that his success may be due to his own efforts, to the productive contribution he has made to the whole community. Always attribute his success to the exploitation, the cheating, the more or less open robbery of others. Never under any circumstances admit that your own failure may be owing to your own weakness, or that the failure of anyone else may be due to his own defects - his laziness, incompetence, improvidence, or stupidity." ~ Henry Hazlitt

Quote of the Day - government as a necessity

2011-12-21T06:05:00.000-05:00

"It has been said that all Government is an evil. It would be more proper to say that the necessity of any Government is a misfortune. This necessity however exists; and the problem to be solved is, not what form of Government is perfect, but which of the forms is least imperfect." ~ James Madison

Who do you believe at the Board of Elections?

2011-12-20T06:10:00.001-05:00

In over 20 years of filing various petitions and forms at the Board of Elections, I've never - ever! - had them miscount the number of signatures submitted or lose a page. And, as a Republican, the person accepting my documents was usually a Democrat!

Why is this important for you to know? Because the latest fiasco with our Lucas County Republican Party Chairman is one in which he claims Board of Election staffers did exactly that.

A person who wants to run for office must sign a declaration of candidacy on the filing petition. This is the form that is circulated amongst voters, and those who wish you to be on the ballot will sign that form. Because of the number of signatures required to run for various offices, it is most often that you need multiple petitions. You can copy the original petition, meaning that it is a copy of your signature, but at least one of the forms filed at the BOE must contain an original signature.

This is state law and failure to do this will result in what is known as a 'fatal flaw' - something that is beyond the subjectivity of the BOE board members to decide.

According to the coverage of yesterday's BOE board meeting, this is exactly what happened with Constantine Stamos who wanted to run against incumbent Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerken.

But that's not the end of the disaster that has become the reign of Jon Stainbrook. Failing to properly file his candidate's petitions (why Stamos didn't file them himself is beyond me - I always filed my own), the blame-game began.

According to the local daily,

Meghan Gallagher, chairman of the Lucas County Republican Party's Central Committee, told the board Monday she turned in nine petition sheets, known as part-petitions, which included one with Mr. Stamos' original signature.

She said the petition was picked up by a staffer, Andrea Taliga, with a group of other petitions and then removed from sight, suggesting to her the page with the original signature was lost in the process.

Board of elections staffer Lori Jacek said Ms. Gallagher turned in eight sheets and that she returned a receipt with that number to Ms. Gallagher's associate, Kelly Bensman. The receipt also shows an estimate of 80 signatures, which is the number of signatures on the eight part-petitions that Ms. Taliga and Ms. Jacek say were filed.

The board was not able to get to the bottom of the she said-she said dispute and split 2-2 on a motion not to certify Mr. Stamos. Voting against certification were Democrats Ron Rothenbuhler and James Ruvolo. Voting for certification were Republicans Jon Stainbrook and Tony DeGidio.

Mr. Stainbrook attributed the missing Stamos signature sheet to staff error, and said the candidate should not be penalized for a board employee's mistake. He said Ms. Gallagher has a history of handling candidate petitions flawlessly. Mr. DeGidio said Ms. Gallagher's version should be accepted because Ms. Bensman and Mr. Stamos corroborated her account.

"It's very suspect that it just happens to be in the race for county commissioner," Mr. Stainbrook said.

Mr. Stainbrook further noted the debate over Mr. Stamos' petitions followed a board vote to certify a Democratic candidate for Lucas County Democratic Party Central Committee whose petition was not time-stamped because the staff inadvertently set it aside and did not open it until the day after the deadline. Mr. Stainbrook cited the instance as an example of how the board's mishandling of a petition should not be blamed on the candidate.

But Mr. Ruvolo and Mr. Rothenbuhler did not concede that the staff had erred, and noted Ms. Gallagher had not made a photocopy of the Stamos petitions before she turned them in. "I can't imagine anybody not taking copies of their petitions. I really find that hard to believe," Mr. Rothenbuhler said. "That's so standard a thing to do."

First of all, what is Megan Gallagher doing turning in petitions when she is employed by the BOE???? That is a clear violation and only her time sheet will show if she had taken a day off to do so.

But let's look at some of the details: Gallagher says she turned in an original. Kelly Bensman (also a Stainbrook crony) and the candidate say Gallagher turned in an original. But the candidate wasn't even there, so how would he know?!?

And if Bensman knew there were nine forms and she only got a receipt for eight, why didn't she question it at the time?!? That would have been the logical - and competent - thing to do.

Perhaps the description of a she-said/she-said dispute is correct. But if so, it boils down to whom you believe: Bensman and Gallagher or two long-time BOE staffers who have a reputation of handling such forms accurately and correctly for years?

For me, I'll believe the BOE staffers. As I said originally, in over 20 years of filing documents at the BOE, I've never had them lose one or miscount what I've submitted. But then, I also made copies of everything I submitted and made sure my receipts matched my filings - a fundamental check and balance that seems to be beyond the current leadership of the Lucas County Republican Party.

***SIDE NOTE:

Stainbrook gives an example in the quoted article of a form not being file-stamped by the staff because the envelope in which it was received was set aside and not processed timely. This is a much different situation and not at all applicable to failing to file an original signature. Clearly, in the example Stainbrook gave, the petition had been received timely, despite the failure of the staff to time-stamp the enclosed document. That is not a 'fatal flaw,' as election law/court rulings have termed such incidences, and the board has discretion on making a decision.

Lastly, and this is an extremely important point to remember: the Republican members of the board of the BOE are not there to 'fight' for Republicans. That is the role of the party representative when presenting details to the board members for their decisions. The four board members, in their role of being board members, are there to uphold Ohio election law and ensure that all things are done accurately, fairly and according to law.

For the Republicans to vote in favor of a Republican despite his failure to submit an original signature, means that they are voting against the legal requirement that they enforced and supported for all other candidates. Rather than make excuses for why Stamos should be on the ballot, Stainbrook should be taking Gallagher and Bensman to task for not filing the original - or, if he believed they did as they said, for not ensuring that the receipt was accurate. If, as Stainbrook says, he 'expected' such 'suspect actions,' then he has no one to blame but Gallagher and Bensman (who didn't object when the receipt showed eight petitions - or 80 signatures) - and himself.

Quote of the Day - victimhood

2011-12-19T14:35:00.001-05:00

"It is precisely this clinging to victimhood as a means of demonstrating one’s virtue and advancing one’s well-being that has led us into a society in which welfare and quotas are “civil rights,” government handouts are “entitlements,” and payment to girls having babies out of wedlock are “compassionate,” while hard-working, ambitious people are “greedy,” punishment of crime is “oppression,” and an independent thinker who stands for courage and self-reliance is dismissed as an “Uncle Tom.”" ~ J. Tucker Alford

Welfare turns opponents into dependents

2011-12-19T10:47:00.003-05:00

From National Center for Policy Analysis:

Political analysts have noted that because the number of those in the ruling elite amounts to only a small fraction of the number in the ruled masses, every regime lives or dies in accordance with public opinion. No matter how powerful or pervasive a regime is, it can still be overrun by the sheer superior numbers of the people it governs. However, this traditional political framework has been undermined by the development of the modern welfare state, says Robert Higgs, a senior fellow with the Independent Institute.

While the original framework would dissect the country into two populations, the gladly ruling and the reluctantly ruled, the welfare state has created a third group: dependents. Though they are most certainly ruled, they are often fierce defenders of the regime and its advocated status quo, thereby breaking ranks with the rest of the ruled who only tolerate it. They do this because the welfare state allows the current regime to be the primary provider for an ever-growing body of dependents, and this dependency engenders loyalty.

• An index of dependency developed by the Heritage Foundation found that the metric increased from 19 in fiscal year 1962 to 272 in fiscal year 2009.

• The Heritage researchers found that in 1962, 21.7 million persons depended on the government-run programs included in their index, yet this same figure for 2009 had grown to 64.3 million.

• Adding dependents not included in the Heritage study might easily increase the number to more than 100 million people, or to more than a third of the entire population.

The handouts of the welfare state exploit this large swathe of the population and earn their repeated and unwavering votes by perpetuating the status quo. As greater portions of the population come to rely on the government for their livelihood, the more clout it will inherently have as its number of detractors dwindles.

An additional symptom of this growing trend, which can be seen in the current political sphere, is that the creation of a status quo-supporting population inherently causes increased resistance to change. This conservativeness manifests itself in a lack of radical policy and in the loss of personnel turnover in Washington.

Source: Robert Higgs, "The Welfare State Neutralizes Opponents by Making Them Dependent on Government," Independent Institute, December 8, 2011.

Study: Nearly 1 in 3 will be arrested by age 23

2011-12-19T09:00:00.003-05:00

“The more laws and order are made prominent, the more thieves and robbers there will be.” ~ Lao Tse

“Nearly one in three people will be arrested by the time they are 23, a study to be published today in Pediatrics found.” (USA Today)

From the article:

The new data show a sharp increase from a previous study that stunned the American public when it was published 44 years ago by criminologist Ron Christensen. That study found 22% of youth would be arrested by age 23. The latest study finds 30.2% of young people will be arrested by age 23.

Criminologist Alfred Blumstein says the increase in arrests for young people in the latest study is unsurprising given several decades of tough crime policies.

Scary!

Quote of the Day - wise government

2011-12-19T08:14:00.002-05:00

A quote of the day while I'm making my Christmas list and checking it twice:

"[A] wise and frugal government ... shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government." ~ Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address

On the radio today

2011-12-16T09:31:00.002-05:00

Just a preview of items we'll be discussing as I fill in for Brian Wilson today from 3-6 p.m. on 1370 WSPD:

* a Rabbi's rant against Tim Tebow - and the bigotry of his comments

* the NAACP's decision to ask the United Nations to 'investigate' voter ID laws in the United States. The handsome and talented Kevin Jackson will be my guest to weigh in on the issue at 4:30.

* fishing line Friday - so whatever else you might want to talk about, including the goings-on at the Lucas County Board of Elections. The BOE is the subject of the WSPD Speedy Poll this week, and we'll have those results for you when we talk with Fred Lefebvre at 5:30.

Hope you'll join us!

Bill of Rights Day

2011-12-15T12:00:00.003-05:00

Yes, today is Bill of Rights Day, in case you didn't know.

The most important thing to remember about the Bill of Rights is that it is NOT a listing of our rights - but a listing of the inherent rights we have that government may NOT infringe upon. They are specific limits on government power.

So take a few moments today to read the Bill of Rights, know them and share them with your family and friends, otherwise, we may find our government no longer limited by the restrictions intended.

Here is a link to the Bill of Rights Institute with information on the Bill of Rights.

Toledo city Council Meeting December 13, 2011

2011-12-15T07:59:00.003-05:00

Notes from Sherry:

Toledo City Council Meeting

December 13, 2011

In attendance: Councilwomen Webb, Hicks-Hudson, Brown, Councilmen Steel, McNamara, Martinez, Sarantou, Ludeman, Collins, Copeland, Craig, Waniewski. Mayor Bell, Deputy Mayors Herwat, Cruthers.

Item 561 – Resolution – Recognize Council President Wilma D. Brown – adopted – all voting yes. (She was celebrated for 45 minutes. SZ)

Item 537 – Acquire 69-acre Northtowne Square Mall, demolish vacant portions, market for redevelopment – Collins – move to Economic Development Committee for January. Webb – properly debated, needs to go to a vote. Ludeman – agrees with Webb – move forward. Roll Call (no, to Committee – yes, vote on) No – Collins, Martinez, McNamara, Sarantou. Yes – Craig, Ludeman, Brown, Hicks-Hudson, Steel, Copeland, Webb, motion carried. Martinez – need to vote on the amendment (proposed by him). (Didn't happen. SZ) Vote for passage – passed - No – Collins, McNamara, Sarantou. Yes – Craig, Ludeman, Brown, Hicks-Hudson, Steel, Copeland, Webb, Martinez, Waniewski.

Item 543 – Providing for the 2012 Assessed Services Program – Street Services, $21,146,410 ('11=$20,598,435) – passed – all voting yes.

Item 544 - Providing for the 2012 Assessed Services Program – Citywide St Lighting, $3,908,076 ('11=3,689,127) – passed – all voting yes.

Item 545 - Providing for the 2012 Assessed Services Program – Downtown St lighting, $256,199 ('11=$248,142) – passed – all voting yes.

Item 546 - Providing for the 2012 Assessed Services Program – Street Trees, $4,942,125 ('11=$5,003,516) – passed – all voting yes.

Item 547 - Providing for the 2012 Assessed Services Program – Surface Treatment, $856,940 ('11=$909,673) – passed - all voting yes.

Item 562 – Amend TMC Sec. 129.08 & 309.02, on-street parking enforcement from DPTA to Port Authority – passed – all voting yes.

Item 563 - 4th amend to agreement with Corrections Commission of NW Ohio, judges from members to advisory – passed – all voting yes.

Item 564 – Dedicating certain property at Oak & Fassett, near new fire station, as public right-of-way – passed – all voting yes.

Item 565 – Purchased foreclosed property at 3736 Inverness Ave. for NSP model home, $50,000 NSP Fund – passed – all voting yes.

Item 566 – Accept Ohio EPA or OWDA loan for Tunnel Optimization, Phase I, $1,380,358 – passed – all voting yes. Martinez – motion to reconsider my vote on 537.

Item 537 – (as above) roll call on amendment – passed – (Sorry, did not get the exact vote, SZ) Vote reconsideration – passed - No – Collins, Martinez, McNamara, Sarantou, Waniewski. Yes - Craig, Ludeman, Brown, Hicks-Hudson, Steel, Copeland, Webb.

Item 568 – Resolution – Street lighting – Alley bounded by Lewis Ave. and Peak Ave. - adopted – all voting yes.

Item 569 – Amend TMC Sec. 187.03(c) to allow contracts executed by electronic format and signature - 1st Reading.

Item 570 – Resolution – Request advances from Lucas County Auditor and Treasurer - 1st Reading.

Item 571 – Temporary appropriation for January, February & March 2012, $147,787,932 All Funds – passed – all voting yes.

Item 572 – Renewable Energy Site License for Dura and Tyler Landfill sites, $262.50/acre, 2 opts, 30 yrs, to 3% - passed – all voting yes.

Item 573 – Adjust air grants for Environmental Services, increase Ohio EPA $19,417 & decrease US EPA $34,865 – passed – all voting yes.

Item 574 – Resolution – Restate pension pick-up for AFSCME Local 7, 2012 from 10% to 7%; 2013 from 7% to 3% - adopted – all voting yes.

Item 575 – Vacate alley at Oak St. and Fassett St. for new fire station (Approved April 6 – 0) – passed – all voting yes.

Item 576 – Zone change at Airport Hwy & Byrne Rd. (Approved 5 – 0) – passed – all voting yes.

Item 577 – SUP for scrap & salvage operation at 40 (120) E. Laskey Rd. (Approved 6 – 0) – passed – all voting yes.

Item 578 – Zone change at 40 (120) E. Laskey Rd. (Approved 6 – 0) – passed – all voting yes.

Item 579 – SUP for type A Day Care at 1611 N. Erie St. (Plan Commission Disapproved) (Approved 6 – 0) – Brown – SUP falls under what she has written. Hicks-Hudson – this day care helps with jobs – well managed. Passed – all voting yes.

Item 580 – Zone change at 112, 120, & 122 S. St. Clair St. (Approved 5 – 0) – passed – all voting yes.

Item 581 – SUP for athletic stadium at 5901 Airport Hwy. for St. John's Jesuit H.S. & Academy (Approved 5 – 0) – passed – all voting yes.

Item 582 – Zone change at 503 Oakdale Ave. (Plan Commission Disapproved) (Approved 5 – 0) – passed – No – Martinez, McNamara – rest yes.

Item 642-10 – Expenditure to Downtown Toledo Development Corp. for economic development services, $150,000 CDBG EDL – Martinez – hearing on new situation, last year – allowable expenditure. McNamara – not without contraversary. Herwat – this will expire – keep the ordinance alive. Martinez – I'm OK with it either way. McNamara – no. Ludeman – extension. New designation – 583-11. Motion to relieve – passed – all voting yes. Motion to amend ($150,000 to $100, 000) passed – all voting yes. McNamara – refer back to Committee.

Last Call:

Collins – Good luck to President Brown; Have a blessed Christmas and New Year.

Copeland - Have a blessed Christmas and New Year.

Ludeman - Have a blessed Christmas and New Year.

Martinez - Have a blessed Christmas and New Year.

McNamara – Thanks Staff & Council for holding off publishing 2011 rules and regulations; Have a blessed Christmas and New Year.

Sarantou – flooding issue – Utilities, owe them a time line to address this safely; Have a blessed Christmas and New Year.

Steel - Have a blessed Christmas and New Year.

Waniewski – Goddard/Illerge – sewer cave in. What is procedure for down fire plug? Right now there is a cone there. In my District – Budget online; Have a blessed Christmas and New Year.

Webb – Thanks to everybody that voted yes for the Northtowne Mall. Meeting with businesses in the Alexis Corridor – Block Watch – they will be glad about this. Tree lighting at Library Village was very good. Caroling on the 15th, 6:30 – 8:30, Friendship Hall.

Herwat - Good luck to President Brown; Have a blessed Christmas and New Year.

Brown – Thank you for representing District 1.

Quotes of the Day - OPM (other people's money)

2011-12-15T07:46:00.002-05:00

"What is common to many is least taken care of, for all men have greater regard for what is their own than what they possess in common with others." ~ Aristotle

"Nothing is easier than spending public money. It does not appear to belong to anybody. Temptation is overwhelming to bestow it on somebody." ~ Calvin Coolidge

"It is the highest impertinence and presumption, therefore, in kings and ministers, to pretend to watch over the economy private people, and to restrain their expence, either by sumptuary laws, or by prohibiting the importation of foreign luxuries. They are themselves always, and without any exception, the greatest spendthrifts in the society. Let them look well after their own expence, and they may safely trust private people with theirs. If their own extravagance does not ruin the state, that of their subjects never will." ~ Adam Smith

House passes revised congressional map; establishes March 6 for primary

2011-12-14T19:45:00.002-05:00

Press Release - the referenced map is viewable here.

House Passes Revised Congressional Map with Strong Bipartisan Support

House Bill 369 reunites Ohio’s primaries to single day in March

COLUMBUS—Speaker of the Ohio House William G. Batchelder (R-Medina) announced today that a revised congressional map has passed the Ohio House with strong bipartisan support. The new map, found in House Bill 369, was introduced by State Representative Matt Huffman (R-Lima) in early November after working closely with members of the House Minority Caucus.

“This map represents the second fair and legal map passed by the Ohio House of Representatives in recent weeks,” Speaker Batchelder said. “I am pleased that the House Republican Caucus has led the charge in not only passing a competitive congressional map, but also in ensuring that Ohioans have only one state and federal primary in 2012.”

Among other things, the bill reunites Ohio’s primaries to one day on March 6, 2012 and will save the state $15 million by doing so. It also creates a bi-partisan legislative task force to review congressional redistricting and issue a report to the General Assembly next year. The filing deadline for presidential and congressional candidates will be reopened to a December 30, 2011 deadline if passed.

“This bill contains a number of positive provisions, including reuniting Ohio's primaries and saving the taxpayers $15 million,” Rep. Huffman said. “The House Republican Caucus never stopped negotiations with the members of the House Minority Caucus and incorporated a number of their suggestions in this bill. We appreciate their support of House Bill 369.”

House Bill 369 passed with a vote of 77-17 and contains an emergency clause which, if passed by the Ohio Senate, will take effect upon the governor’s signature.

-30-

Latest version of Ohio Congressional redistricting map

2011-12-14T18:41:00.004-05:00

Amended Substitute H.B. 369 contains a new version of the Ohio Congressional district map. Below is the map as contained in the bill. You can see that our 9th Congressional District is still along the shoreline of Lake Erie, from Toledo to Cleveland.

You can click on the image for a larger view:

Will EPA ban on rat and mouse poison be another DDT fiasco?

2011-12-14T10:27:00.004-05:00

Based upon bogus information and political considerations, the United States banned DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) in 1972. Its use began in 1943 and it was one of the most widely-used pesticides, as it was especially successful at controlling malaria and typhus during World War II. Paul Hermann Müller was even awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery "of the high efficiency of DDT as a contact poison against several arthropods."

But in 1962, Rachel Carson published a book called Silent Spring that *suggested* DDT and other pesticides were dangerous to the environment and wildlife - and caused cancer in humans. It was this book and the subsequent emergence of the environmentalism movement, fueled by the formation of the Environmental Defense Fund whose goal to have to DDT outlawed, that resulted in the ban.

But the issue of whether or not a ban was truly necessary has been fraught with controversy, from the original decision and whether or not the science supported it, to the claim that millions have died of malaria as a result of the lack of sufficient deterrent to the insects that carry it.

As this author relates:

As to the circumstances surrounding the banning of DDT, the November 1980 issue of Fusion magazine (page 52) stated: "When U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief William Ruckelshaus was about to announce his decision to ban DDT in June 1972, he confided to a friend, "There is no scientific basis for banning this chemical --- this is a political decision."" The 'friend' was never identified however. In a commentary the magazine concluded (page 56): "The EPA and environmentalists must be held accountable for their crime: There was not a single human death from DDT usage; there have been untold thousands of deaths and millions of disease-stricken persons as a result of the DDT banning."

Fusion's most comprehensive article about DDT (a dozen or so pages) was in their June 1979 issue. The article stated that independent tests refuted nearly every single government claim as to the harmful effects to wildlife from exposure to DDT and addressed each claim. As evidence DDT wasn't harmful to wildlife, the article stated wildlife living downstream from DDT manufacturing plants actually thrived, their numbers increased. There wasn't any disagreement about any lethalness to humans however because the government never claimed there were any deaths, and there wasn't, not a single one. In summation the article concluded the 'political' reason for banning DDT was because it was 'saving too many third-world lives'... an utterly shocking observation.

And now, today, we have a plan to ban 20 rate and mouse control products because they use loose bait.

Note, this latest decision is not because the product, itself, is banned - but because of how it could be used.

You see, the EPA (and the nanny-state government) believes that many of these types of pest control products are used in homes where children or pets could come into contact with them.

The Heartland Institute details how critics of the ban (especially those representing businesses whose products may be on the chopping block) are quick to emphasize the minimal health benefits and the many potential costs of the ban. They point out the following:

• The EPA's proposed ban could force people to rely on products from an alternate class of rodenticides which, unlike the products targeted by EPA, have no antidote.

• EPA's decision could also force consumers to avoid treating their homes for rodents unless they can afford to hire a pest control professional to use the ingredients denied to individuals.

• People living in poverty are most afflicted by rodent problems, and they will be the ones most adversely affected by the proposed ban because they will be unable to afford the professional exterminators made necessary by the ban on these do-it-yourself consumer products.

As the Heartland article explains, the EPA's decision to ban these household products is based largely on a single statistic:

"...between 1993 and 2008 the American Association of Poison Control Centers received 12,000 to 15,000 reports of rat and mouse poison exposures each year regarding children under 6 years old. Improper use, however, is not a good enough reason to ban such useful product from the market..." (emphasis added)

The worst part about this is the fact that other products and activities, when used or done incorrectly, cause even more harm - but they're not being banned.

Todd M. Wynn, director of the Energy, Environment, and Agriculture Task Force for the American Legislative Exchange Council, is quoted in the article:

“Each year, hundreds of thousands of children are treated for bicycle-related injuries; nearly half of these children are diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries. Does that mean we should ban bicycles? We allow parents to make these choices every day, but EPA steps in and seeks to make these decisions instead of American families,” Wynn said.

“There are certain levels of acceptable risk in society, and parents play an important role by weighing the potential risks and benefits of using a product. This is not saying there is no government role in consumer protection, but one must be sure there is a proper assessment of the science and risk involved and not base regulations and bans on emotionally driven statistics of exposure to children,” he explained.

Unfortunately, our government believes it is responsible for keeping everyone from harm, even if doing so harms others in the process or erodes our liberties and freedom to make choices on our own.

It's a nanny-state government that assumes it knows better than us and then makes our decisions for us. You see, we cannot be trusted to make the 'right' decisions on our own and, rather than hold parents accountable if their child should happen to get into such poison, they'll just impose a ban.

After all, if it saves just one life...

Apparently, wearing a skirt means you're a threat

2011-12-13T08:23:00.004-05:00

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." ~ U.S. Constitution

When traveling on a plane, I specifically dress so as not to set off the metal detector. On my way back from a conference in Phoenix, I went through the detector and didn't set it off, as planned.

However, because I was wearing a skirt (and that was the ONLY reason, the TSA guard told me) he called for a pat down. A female agent came over and patted down my legs.

I presented no threat, no potential danger, did not set off the alarm and specifically wore nothing that would even remotely single me out for a pat-down. But apparently, wearing a skirt is some sort of indicator of potential terrorist activity and a pat-down was performed.

We have given up so much and it really hasn't made us any safer, though it has diminished our liberties and put us on a path to tyranny. As for the above quote, I don't care what they courts may say, the TSA violates this basic tenent every day!

Save the Dates: filling in on WSPD

2011-12-12T15:38:00.002-05:00

I'll be filling in for WSPD's Brian Wilson from 3-6 p.m. on the following dates. I hope you'll tune in locally to AM 1370 or listen on-line or via I Heart Radio.

* Friday, December 16
* Tuesday, December 27
* Wednesday, December 28
* Thursday, December 29

City of Toledo Christmas Tree disposal

2011-12-12T15:00:00.001-05:00

Press Release:

City to accept fresh cut Christmas trees after holidays

Trees will be recycled into mulch for use in city parks

The city of Toledo will again accept Christmas trees at select city park sites beginning December 26, 2011 and continuing through January 27, 2012.

A collection site will be offered in each of the six city council districts. Fresh cut Christmas trees may be dropped off in the parking lots of the listed sites in designated areas. Citizens are asked to remove all ornaments, decorations and plastic bags from the tree. Trees will be chipped into mulch for use in the city’s parks.

The sites will include:

* Jermain Park on Upton Ave. in council district one.

* Schneider Park on Schneider Rd. near S. Detroit Ave. in council district two.

* Ravine 2 Park on Mott St. in council district three.

* Detwiler Park at Manhattan Blvd. and Summit St. in council district four.

* Bowman Park in the Laskey Rd. parking lot in council district five.

* Greenwood Park in the Gage and Darrel lots in council district six.

Drop-off areas will be designated with signage directing citizens to the appropriate location.

Citizens with questions regarding Christmas tree disposal may contact the Division of Forestry at 419-245-3357.

###

The top 10 economic myths of 2011

2011-12-12T08:16:00.003-05:00

Every year the Business & Media Institute takes a look at the year's news and determines the top 10 worst economic myths.

Here is their 2011 list:

10. Congress took a "machete" to the budget in August.
9. In order to win, the GOP wants to sabotage the economy.
8. Who cares about a Soros' sponsored effort to remake global economy?
7. With 7 billion on the planet, it's time to panic.
6. Apocalypse Al is a "genius," and climate change is a real threat.
5. The jobs are right around the corner.
4. Occupy Wall Street is the new Tea Party.
3. Green jobs are the future.
2. $52 million from Soros doesn't mean we're biased.
1. "We are the 99 percent."

They give a complete explanation for each one, but some of the best lines are below:

From #10 "Congress took a "machete" to the budget in August." Media Myth: Spending cuts actually cut spending.:

"...95 percent of stories ignored the fact that the federal debt would still rise by $12 trillion (from $14.29 trillion to $28.8 trillion).

"...remember that real spending cuts by the government are nearly as fantastical as finding a leprechaun and his pot of gold at the end of a rainbow."

From #5 "The jobs are right around the corner." Media Myth: Obama is creating jobs and more are on the way:

"President Obama's record on jobs is that his promises have fallen flat. His economic policies were supposed to create 4 million jobs by the end of 2010. The results have been dismal with a net loss of 1,623,00 jobs lost since Feb. 2009. But the news media have continued to look for "silver linings" and "bright spots," only to be disappointed by "unexpected" jobs data."

From #4 "Occupy Wall Street is the New Tea Party." Media Myth: "Occupy Wall Street: A Tea Party for the Left?"

In reality, the two couldn't be more different. The Tea Party protesters were peaceful, promoted small government and worked to elect candidates with their values, all while the media did its best to portray them as "terrorists" and "racists." On the other hand, OWS lacked a unified message - but the protesters' big government, anti-free market and at times anti-American and anti-Semitic sentiments have been on display. The volume and tone of news coverage was also dramatically different.

Violence (including rape and sexual assault), crime and disrespect of authority has also been evident at many of the OWS rallies. The twitter feed @OccupyArrests claimed 5,248 arrests as of the morning of Dec. 7. According to The New York Times, OWS troublemakers are merely a fringe minority of the protesters. Yet, the Tea Party was '"responsible for the behavior of people" at its rallies. The broadcast networks chose to ignore violence at the "peaceful" rallies such as Occupy L.A.

From #2 "Millions from Soros doesn't mean we're biased." Media Myth: George Soros is just another left-wing philanthropist:

Since 2003, Soros has donated more than $52 million to all kinds of media outlets - liberal news organizations, investigative reporting and even smaller blogs. He has also been involved in funding the infrastructure of supposedly "neutral" news, from education to even the industry ombudsman association. Many other operations Soros supports also have a media component to what they do.

All that money has created a liberal "echo chamber," that in the words of one group he backs, "in which a message pushes the larger public or the mainstream media to acknowledge, respond, and give airtime to progressive ideas because it is repeated many times."

Of course Soros has denied his influence, blaming Fox News: "Another trick is to accuse your opponent of the behavior of which you are guilty, like Fox News accusing me of being the puppet master of a media empire." But as BMI exposed in multiple reports, Soros' dollars reach far and wide into the media industry.

That echo chamber is often used to further Soros' view, including his view that the "capitalist threat" is a bigger problem than communism these days.(emphasis added by me)

And from #1 1. "We are the 99." Media Myth: Occupy Wall Street claims to be the "99 percent," pushes class warfare rhetoric that captures attention and favorable coverage from media.

But the extreme anti-capitalists, anarchists, communists and socialists protesting in NYC and other cities across the country did not speak for 99 percent of people. In fact according to the Seattle P-I, as of Nov. 13, only 33 percent of people supported OWS based on a poll from the left-leaning Public Policy Polling firm. This despite overwhelmingly positive media coverage.

The media's promotion of OWS did not come as a surprise because it was the natural outcome of the mainstream media's reporting on wealth and inequality and the liberal economists they interview. The phrase "We are the 99 percent" shouted by protesters in Zuccotti Park and Occupy Wall Street encampments may be new, but the class warfare foundation for it has "roots in a decade's worth of reporting," The New York Times admitted in a front page homage to OWS on Dec. 1.

Quote of the Day - freedom to fail

2011-12-11T06:34:00.000-05:00

"If you don't have the right to do something wrong [to yourself], you don't have any rights at all." ~ Gene Burns

Quote of the Day - redistribution of wealth

2011-12-10T12:28:00.000-05:00

"Whoever claims the right to redistribute the wealth produced by others is claiming the right to treat human beings as chattel." ~ Ayn Rand

Dave Kissinger to seek House District 46

2011-12-10T10:32:00.001-05:00

From his campaign website:

It is truly an honor to have begun our campaign to serve the residents of the 46th District at the Ohio Statehouse. Our county is facing many challenges and I have consistently stepped up to serve as a strong advocate for the needs of our community.

Additionally, I want to compliment him on his interactive website. It has the ability to leave comments and connects to all the social media links for his campaign. As websites go, it's a great start for a candidate.

Quote of the Day - temporary taxes

2011-12-09T11:31:00.000-05:00

In light of the growing interest by some on Toledo City Council to make the 3/4% payroll income tax permanent (and the penchant of our local daily to support just about every tax they've ever seen), I thought this quote especially pertinent:

"Taxes should be continued by annual or biennial reeactments, because a constant hold, by the nation, of the strings of the public purse is a salutary restraint from which an honest government ought not wish, nor a corrupt one to be permitted, to be free." ~ Thomas Jefferson

Quotes of the Day - for your own good

2011-12-09T06:52:00.000-05:00

Two quotes while I participate in a conference today....

"No man has ever ruled other men for their own good." ~ George Herron

"... as all history informs us, there has been in every State & Kingdom a constant kind of warfare between the governing & governed: the one striving to obtain more for its support, and the other to pay less. And this has alone occasioned great convulsions, actual civil wars, ending either in dethroning of the Princes, or enslaving of the people. Generally indeed the ruling power carries its point, the revenues of princes constantly increasing, and we see that they are never satisfied, but always in want of more. The more the people are discontented with the oppression of taxes; the greater need the prince has of money to distribute among his partisans and pay the troops that are to suppress all resistance, and enable him to plunder at pleasure. There is scarce a king in a hundred who would not, if he could, follow the example of Pharaoh, get first all the peoples money, then all their lands, and then make them and their children servants for ever ..." ~ Benjamin Franklin

Big Brother arrives in Toledo; smile -you're on camera!

2011-12-08T07:49:00.005-05:00

Yesterday, I received a press release from the City of Toledo informing me of a press conference with new Toledo Police Chief Derrick Diggs. I wasn't exactly sure what was being announced, so I didn't post it. Here is what it said:

Toledo Police Chief Derrick Diggs will announce a new data driven policing model at a press conference at 3 p.m. today, December 7, 2011 on the 3rd floor the Safety Building.

The initiative involves a process for systematically collecting and analyzing data to strategically direct manpower to suppress crime in identified problem areas. The initiative also involves the utilization of the CompStat model to track progress and ensure accountability. Additionally, it will include a Real Time Crime Center that will utilize cameras as a deterrent and investigative tool for the apprehension of suspects involved in criminal behavior.

The bottom line is that Toledo wants to install a bunch of cameras around town (75) to monitor and record - well, pretty much everything. They're even considering getting some that can recognize the sound of a gunshot and then focus upon the location of the sound.

Of course, Chief Diggs says this is all about keeping us safe and moving the department from just responding to crime and then investigating it to attempting to deter or even suppress crime. While the locations of the cameras haven't been determined, they are planned for high-crime areas.

You and I know that the cameras won't really suppress crime - the criminals will just commit the crimes elsewhere.

Chief Diggs said he's modeling his plan on the cameras being used in Memphis. With relatives in Memphis, I can tell you that the cameras haven't really allowed the police to 'deter' or 'suppress' crime.

The funding for the initial purchase and set up would come from the Law Enforcement Trust Fund, the monies the department has confiscated from crimes. But there is no mention of the on-going maintenance costs and whether or not there is funding for those.

Apparently, the Real Time Crime Center would be staffed with officers to watch everything that's going on and 'respond' accordingly. But with the decrease in the number of officers we have on the streets over the last several years, some may question this plan.

It's not often I find myself in agreement with the ACLU, but they've weighed in on the plan calling it "Big Brother 24/7."

The usual claims in support of 24/7 surveillance - like the ones made in favor of red-light cameras - will be used: it will keep us safe; if we're not doing anything wrong, we won't have anything to worry about; it's for our own good; if it saves just one life.

Think about it, by the time camera hears a gunshot and zooms in on the source of the sound, you're already shot, perhaps dead. So much for "keeping you safe."

Besides, I don't care about those claims - government always makes such claims when infringing upon our liberties.

I just go back to the quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin:

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

Vote on slogan for Ohio's new license plate

2011-12-08T07:25:00.003-05:00

Periodically, the state of Ohio changes its licence plate and drivers license design and this time around, they are seeking votes from the public as to what the new slogan should be.

There are some local items on the list, including Glacial Grooves, Lake Erie, Put-In-Bay, Perry's Victory, Roller Coaster Capital of the World and Toledo Museum of Art. Older slogans, like The Buckeye State, DiscoverOhio.com and The Heart of It All, are also included. Of course, the state motto, With God All Things Are Possible, is a choice as well.

The complete list of contenders:

17th State
1st Electric Light Bulb
1st Professional Baseball Team
1st Traffic Light
40,948 Square Miles
Annie Oakley
Appalachian Plateau
Beautiful Ohio
The Buckeye State
Cardinal
Cleveland Orchestra
Cy Young
DiscoverOhio.com
Dunbar House
Edison
Est. 1803
First Ladies Library
Glacier Grooves
The Heart of It All
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Heisman
Hocking Hills
Home of Astronauts
The Horseshoe
Inventors
Iroquois for Beautiful River
Jesse Owens
Johnny Appleseed
Ladybug
Lake Erie
Manufacturing Leader
Marietta-1st Settlement
Mother of Presidents
Newark Mounds
Ohio Burgee
The Ohio Caverns
The Ohio River
Perry's Victory
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Put-in-Bay
Red Carnation
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Roller Coaster Capital of the World
Rubber Capital of the World
Serpent Mound
So Much to Discover
Spiegel Grove
State of Perfect Balance
Steel
Taft Museum
Tecumseh
Toledo Museum of Art
University Circle
West Side Market
White Trillium
With God All Things Are Possible
Woody Hayes
Wright Brothers
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

To vote for your favorite, go to myplate.ohio.gov