I implore Senators Carey, Goodman & Niehaus (along with two yet to be named/outed GOP State Senators) to NOT go along with Strickland and Budish's plan to increase taxes on already overtaxed Ohioans.
Please give Former Senator Mike DeWine a call and ask him [...]
As Mike Curtin & Chan Cochran have both discussed in past columns, the Mayor & City Council can & should be a major pain in the ass by utilizing every possible power they have to make placing a casino in the Arena District something which [...]
"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures." ~Thornton Wilder
Simple question I think.
I hope the answer is just as simple.
How much is enough?
"For where your treasure lies, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:21
I was given all kinds of different answers way back when last year from the Kasich crew when I was banging on Kasich [...]
"As
we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest
appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."
~John Fitzgerald Kennedy
[...]
This will either end up being the BIGGEST story (or non-story...there really is not an "in between" on this one) this blog has ever broken in its 14 months of being in existence.
So today you are either hearing something that will have statewide and potentially national [...]
"Toxic Pregnancies" was submitted by my boy Goose. You may not like his politics (I sure as hell don't), but the first and third links below are very interesting reads (and this is coming from someone with a 14 year old...I'd definitely be reading these links if I had one [...]
Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, [...]
This post is by my extremely liberal friend Goose.
While the GOP continues to kick sand in the face of the Obama administration and Congress for passing a failed stimulus bill (Politics 101: Why would you/they do anything else?), some independent and conservative economists are now trumping the success of the stimulus [...]
Running down-ticket statewide for a non-Apportionment Board seat in an Apportionment Board election year basically makes you the red headed step-child of Ohio statewide politics.
This is a fact that is great news for Kevin Boyce and not so great news for Josh Mandel.
Kevin Boyce has been [...]
The presence of fear is not an indictment for a lack of faith as much as it is an invitation for more faith. Ask God not to release you from the storm, but to give you the faith to find rest in the midst of it.
Set aside your [...]
If you just returned from traveling abroad for the last three to four months you would probably judge from Strickland's post election comments re: the passage of Issue 3 that Strickland must certainly have been the chief opponent of Issue 3 throughout the entire election.
If you just returned from traveling abroad for the last three to four months you would probably judge from Strickland's post election comments re: the passage of Issue 3 that Strickland must certainly have been the chief opponent of Issue 3 throughout the entire election.
As you may or may not know I've been pretty down in the dumps of late, but am starting to come out of it. If this week goes even half as well as I expect it to go then this week will go a long way towards me' [...]
"The good thing about masturbation is that you don't have to dress up for it." -- Truman Capote
' [...] 
Dept of Motor Vehicles...Medicare...Veterans Hospitals...United States Postal Service...
All models of 21st Century efficiency...right???
Just yesterday the US Postal Service said, "No mas!!!" and they are shutting down Operation Santa.
So if your cute little kid or niece or nephew writes a letter to Santa Claus as many millions of kids [...]
"In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends."
-- John Churton Collins
[tinyurl.com]We now have two very good, very real examples of what early, aggressive targeting of absentee voters can do.
This is truly a paradigm shift.
The old way of campaigning is done, finito, kaput...it has gone the way of the dinosaur, the dodo bird & Tim Grendell's' [...]
Unemployment in the state of Ohio is at 10.5%.
In Teddy's Bizarro World this is the true definition of turning around Ohio.
If we have to endure four more years of this guy I'm wondering where in the hell he is going to turn us around to by 2014.
Scary stuff...
' [...]My dentist is a wicked smart guy named Scott Schumann. He and a small group of folks just wrote a book together and although I have not yet read it (it just came out yesterday...give me a break...I'm not Superman) my guess is it is going to be great. Here [...]
'Tis easy enough to be pleasant,
When life flows along like a song;
But the man worth while is the one who will smile
When everything goes dead wrong.
-- Ella Wheeler Wilcox
' [...]
"There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow." -- O.S. Marden
[...]
I am almost NEVER at a loss for words...yep, I know...sucks to be you...but I was at a loss for words when I saw on the local news (yep...I know, I know, I know...I should not be watching the local news, but I have my reason for doing [...]
I read this story from 11/1 buried on page A5 of the Dispatch with great interest:
[tinyurl.com]You might have missed it so please read it before proceeding further.
Your first question as an Ohioan that you might be asking yourself is:
Why should I care about what is happening [...]
"The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself." -- Benjamin Franklin
[...]
"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." -- Psalms 30:5
[...]
"A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle." -- Gloria Steinem
[...]
Who will take Lee Fisher's place on the ticket?
Whoever does could easily displace the woman in this video:
Other than needing a job in a tough economy (decent reason), wanting to be the director of a department (better reason) or you would like to finish out your career in [...]
"Bullriding is for pussies with stupid hats..." is written by my boy Goose who has thankfully broken the Guest Columnist embargo on writing on this blog after my one month sabbatical. Thanks Goose for jumping back on-board. It is very much appreciated!
Or so I thought.
The other [...]
"Four be the things I'd been better without:
Love, curiosity, freckles, and doubt."
-- Dorothy Parker (1893-1967)
' [...]Let me give you a little background first.
Two Facts: I love Columbus, Ohio and my daughter is in the 8th grade.
I will be here until she goes off to college, but my guess is that if it is not a cooler city in five years than it is today [...]
"A politician need never apologize for opportunism in action, but he should always be ashamed of compromise in thought." -- Walter Bagehot
[...]
"In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit." ~Albert Schweitzer
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."
Jeremiah 29:11
[...]
Man, did I get skewered from all directions for my Yost post yesterday.
I was sent some poll numbers...some good, some bad...from a reliable pollster to help try to tell the other side of the story.
*Yost has only been heard of by 25% of the GOP electorate, but his [...]
Shame on the five Ohio GOP State Senators who are going to join the 12 Senate dems to increase taxes on already overtaxed Ohioans!!!
Way to help Strickland and Redfern, hurt Kasich, Taylor & Husted's chances of winning the Apportionment Board seats and being selfish and weak!
Great job! You should really' [...]
Man I was dying to find a picture of Culp, but I couldn't find one.
I did find this pic of Simone Wilkinson though. Not bad looking for a blonde and the accent is wonderful.
Kind of funny that I couldn't find a Mike Culp photo. My guess is that [...]
"Forgiveness is the healing of wounds caused by another. You choose to let go of a past wrong and no longer be hurt by it. Forgiveness is a strong move to make, like turning your shoulders sideways to walk quickly on a crowded sidewalk. It's your move."
I hate to disagree with the majority of Ohio GOP bloggers on my first day back, but I've got to lay out some of the certainties in life:
*Death unless your name is Jesus Christ
*Taxes unless you just choose not to pay them like a certain someone we all' [...]
"We glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." Romans 5:3-5
[...]William M. Todd
2417 Brentwood Rd.
Bexley, Ohio 43209
(614) 499-6904
Dear Kyle:
As a lifelong Buckeye, I have watched with great sadness the recent political and economic decline of our great state of Ohio. Never before in its 206 year history has it been so ill-served by its leadership.
Simply stated, Ohio will [...]
"One doesn't know, till one is a bit at odds with the world, how much one's friends who believe in one rather generously, mean to one." -- D.H. Lawrence
' [...]
Change we need
Almost seems like an f-ing punch line now doesn't it???
I knew it was a joke last year.
Too bad the joke isn't very funny.
I'm just glad the rest of Ohio is starting to pay attention:
45% approve & 50% disapprove
Some of my dem friends have asked me why' [...]
Here is a quote I found by Helen Keller which pretty much sums up my state of mind as I persevere with the new website I'm working so hard to get out of Alpha Testing and into Beta Testing:
"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."
Hope that' [...]
A long time ago (not really...just Oct. 15) I wrote this post which includes a link to our proposal for filling the budget hole (so, yes, I'm asking you to read that post and the link within the post as well...hey, buck up...it's been a month since I've [...]
Haven't posted since 10/17 and for that I apologize.
Hopefully you guys will come back to read this blog when I come back and start writing again next Tuesday after a month's hiatus from the blog.
I needed it. Sorry. Something had to "go" in the last 30 days & the blog' [...]
By 2007 more than 3 million Afghans were involved in cultivating a yield of some 8,200 metric tons of poppies (think the fight against the proliferation of opium is going to be a problem for the US troops to deal with for a few more decades? yep. i [...]
"Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities...because it is the quality which guarantees all others." -- Winston Churchill
[...]
I believe that everyone who runs for the legislature basically runs initially either for:
*All the right reasons (i.e. for the greater good, to make the community/state better, to serve, etc)
*For personal power
*For ego/status, being put on a pedestal or for the sex with people who are not your spouse/to get away [...]
Having an obese spouse raises your risk of becoming obese by 37%. If a close friend becomes obese, the risk skyrockets by 171%.
[...]
1.8 BillionNumber of people that the UN estimates will be living in countries or regions with water scarcity by 2025. 2/3 of the global population could be under stress conditions.
[...]
Don't get me wrong. I want this to happen.
Yes, you heard me correctly. My fiscally conservative, socially moderate self would like for Ohio to get this money for a medium speed rail system connecting Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton & Cincinnati.
Blasphemy you say?
I don't think so.
It would be one thing [...]
I think Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize is just about the equivalent of Keanu Reeves winning the award for "Best Actor" for his performance in "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure."
I'm a big fan of Wikipedia so let's take a look at Barack's page to see what' [...]
"A man can fail many times but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else." -- Anonymous
' [...]
My guess is that Lee has instructed his staff to make doubly sure that there are no photo ops whatsoever with Governor Titanic...don't want to have Teddy hurting his poll numbers vs Portman in the race to replace Voinovich.
Heck, with how bad Ted's situation is right now there' [...]
"One of the great problems we have in the Republican Party is that we don't encourage you to be nasty. We encourage you to be neat, obedient, and loyal and faithful, and all those Boy Scout words, which would be great around the camp fire, but are lousy'" [...]
Post-Bob Taft (yes, we're all feeling quite a bit of "watch what you wish for" these days) not many people thought things could get worse in Ohio, but purely Republicans, Independents and dems can all agree that things are most definitely worse under Strickland than they were under' [...]
"A politician is someone who will double-cross that bridge when she comes to it." -- Oscar Levant
[...]The following blog post was penned by Guest Columnist Steven Hyland. Steven Hyland is a doctoral candidate in the Department of History at The Ohio State University. He won a Fulbright Grant and an International Dissertation Research Fellowship from the Social Science Research Council to conduct research in Argentina. As you can see [...]
That is one of my daughter's first memories (yes, it made quite an impression) and something we still refer back to at times even still to this day (she is almost 14 now).
My 2 year old daughter was fascinated by the beauty & luminescence (nice 50 cent word, [...]
"Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first." -- Ronald Reagan (1911-2004)
[...]
Well worth the read:
[gunny93.blogspot.com]Many thanks to Holly Lansbury for submitting this!
[...]"The best index to a person's character is a) how he treats people who can't do him any good, and b) how he treats people who can't fight back." -- Abigail Van Buren (aka "Dear Abby")
[...]
"A liberal is a person whose interests aren't at stake at the moment." -- Willis Player
' [...]"The Price of War" is penned by my buddy Goose. Every now & then I get some clamoring from some of our readers as to why I let Goose write on this right-leaning blog (since he is firmly on the left). I love that he writes for the blog for [...]
"The Grand Old Party....Stay Classy!!!" is penned by Goose. Good thing he lives in California otherwise some of our more conservative Ohio readers might try to find him :-O
This unfortunately comes as no surprise, but if I'm a die-hard Republican I'm hanging my head a little lower today:
[...]
"Ken Burns -- National Parks Documentary" is penned by my very good, ultra-pinko liberal friend Goose. He is a great writer, smart guy (on everything, but political views) :-) (Good intro, huh Goose? Figured Brianna would like that).
Most documentaries are two hours at the most. Not Ken Burns. [...]
Okay. After this post on Chris "Let's throw a pajama party to celebrate my 19 lobbying clients" Redfern & governor Strickland I'll focus on other subjects (at least for 48-72 hours).
I've gotten a number of emails over the last year (mostly about Brunner & some about Brown) asking [...]
Sometimes my mind works in mysterious ways (I completely admit to that), but a few things hit me yesterday when I was writing the Strickland post.
One of the things that came to mind was how in the F are Boyce & Pepper feeling right about now?
Press the rewind [...]
I really, really appreciate a good sense of humor.
Who cares if it is only "this" big!?!?Chris "I am the Lobbyist Chairman, beeyotch!" Redfern has a very good sense of humor.
Who would have known???
I did a post earlier today commenting that the lobbying business he receives bundles of cash [...]
Are they really so desperate that they are throwing the Hail Mary Ellen Withrow Pass on 4th down & 35 yards to go on the ballot issue?
(Insert over the top comments about Mary Ellen Withrow here)
[...]
VOLUNTEERS
WANTED!!
Friday, October 16 – EXPO
Saturday, October 17 – EXPO
Sunday, October 18 – RACE DAY
Help out in your community by volunteering for the 30th Anniversary of the Columbus Marathon.
The Course:
Starts at Broad & 3rd and runs through various
neighborhoods.
Does it run through yours?
Bexley – Old Town East – German [...]
Now I realize that the question is entirely ridiculous at first glance, but before you completely discount the question as sheer idiocy please sit down, take a deep breath & reflect for a moment on the decisions Strickland and his team of advisers (if you can call them that) have made [...]
I wish Ohio governor Ted Strickland would have kept this in mind. We would all be better off. Hope you all enjoy my scathing post that is coming tomorrow.
"The man who is most slow in promising is most sure to keep his word." -- Jean Jacques Rousseau
[...]
Marilyn Brown has dropped out of the race for Secretary of State. I'm sad because this primary was shaping up to be my favorite race in the entire state.
The LGBT community has got to be incensed at how Brown was treated & I'm sure the pro-Brunner & pro-Brown [...]
In case you missed this post we did about 3 1/2 months ago I wanted to make sure you had it readily available as you and your fellow Senators contemplate Strickland's proposal to tax the shiitake out of Ohioans to the tune of $850 million at a time Ohio voters [...]
In case you missed this post we did about 3 1/2 months ago I wanted to make sure you had it readily available as you and your fellow Senators contemplate Strickland's proposal to tax the shiitake out of Ohioans to the tune of $850 million at a time Ohio voters [...]
A Priceless Picture
Thanks to the true sage of Omaha for submitting this priceless pic!
Not the most accurate or scientific site on the internet, but kind of fun/interesting nonetheless:
[websiteoutlook.com]In case you are too lazy to input any site domains I picked two for you:
Ohio dem site: $2,737.50
Ohio GOP site: $2,752.10
[...]
"California is on the mend!" was provided by Guest Columnist Brianna Azul. Thanks for the
submission Brianna. We miss you!
"...yesterday Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's bipartisan tax commission recommended a road out of this mess.
The heart of the new plan is to broaden the tax base" [...]
"Death Panel Propaganda" is penned by my buddy Goose. If you are wondering why I am posting this it is because I have a "no editing" policy with our Guest Columnists. It is just that simple. Love you Goose & hope you enjoy the photo I picked for your post [...]
"Don't be humble. You're not that great." -- Golda Meir
[...]
"I promise I'm only raising your taxes by this much..."
COLUMBUS (AP) - Ohio governor Ted Strickland has proposed freezing income tax cuts to fund education in the wake of a court decision that could halt his plan to put lottery slot machines at racetracks.
Strickland on Wednesday suggested postponing the final year of' [...]
"The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples' money." -- Margaret Thatcher
' [...]
"Politics is the diversion of trivial men who, when they succeed at it, become important in the eyes of more trivial men."
-- George Jean Nathan (1882-1958)
[...]
I'm no Einstein, but is this what Strickland was referring to when he said he was going to "turnaround" Ohio?
I don't think "1 out of every 8 Ohioans is now living in poverty" is exactly what voters had in mind when they voted for him for Governor back [...]
"Capitol Cabaret" is penned by our newest guest Columnist Gambling Man. I love the post, but after reading it I know why he wanted to write under the anonymity of a pseudonym. Knowing his wife, she would make him a statistic if she knew he was the author of this [...]
