State

Brian Rothenberg, Director of Progress Ohio, announced publication by that organization of a new study on Social Security this past Friday, 10/28/11. Social Security has had major positive impact on lives of Ohio’s elderly, disabled, women & minorities according to Rothenberg.

“We’re sending this report to Ohio Senator Portman, strongly urging him to oppose any proposed cuts to Social Security,” stated Rothenberg. “Portman is on the Super Committee that is considering federal budget cuts and he needs to know how important Social Security and Medicare are to the people he represents. Cuts to Social Security or Medicare would be devastating to Ohioans and would cause great harm to our state’s economy.”

Social Security, according to the study, brings $27.9 billion to Ohio each year, over 13% of the state’s total economy. Likewise, Medicare adds another $27.7 billion to Ohio’s economy annually. Together, Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid add over $64 billion to Ohio, bringing benefits to 1 in 6 of the state’s residents. This number represents 18.4% of Ohio’s population.

As the mobilization to defend Ohio’s attack on public worker’s rights, SB 5/Issue 2, a Quinnipiac poll was made public, with the widest gap yet on the issue. 57% stated their opposition to Issue 2 in the poll, with only 32% backing it.

There is no sign of overconfidence on the part of Issue 2 opponents, however. In Ohio’s Capital City & across the state organized labor & their coalition partners were mobilizing, preparing to bring the predicted victory home.

Jeanette Mauk, of We Are Ohio, the coalition leading the fight against Issue 2, stated; “We cannot sit on our laurels. We’ve done a great job so far bringing the message to Ohio families on how Issue 2 will hurt our communities if it passes. We aren’t going to let up now!”

This past week in Ohio’s major cities, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Dayton, thousands of opponents of Issue 2 participated in public marches to local Boards of Election, voting in mass against the Issue.

In the aftermath of this past week’s tragic killing of 49 exotic animals, including 18 rare Bengal Tigers, in Zanesville, Ohio, Republican Governor Kasich and conservatives are scrambling, trying every way possible to put a right-wing spin on this calamity. Endangered wolves & monkeys were among the animals killed after their troubled owner, Terry Thompson, took his own life and released the animals. Six leopards were saved and a monkey is still unaccounted for. Reality, however, will just not spin that way.

Although professionals in handling exotic animals have been pushing for years for stronger regulations regarding ownership of these animals, an alliance of conservatives, libertarians, Republicans & NRA types have successfully blocked them. Ohio remains one of only seven states that require no permits & have next to no regulations for the private ownership of exotic animals. Previous Governor Strickland had issued an executive order banning the purchase or boarding of exotic animals by anyone who’d been convicted of animal cruelty. Even this relatively mild measure was immediately canceled by new right-wing Gov. Kasich.

The Franklin County Republican Party hosted the first-ever Swing State Straw Poll at the Ohio Union on the campus of The Ohio State University. The straw poll provided Ohio Republicans with an opportunity to have their voice heard in the early stage of an increasingly competitive GOP presidential nominating process. Voters in the straw poll contributed $25 to participate, listened to messages from all campaigns, and then voted for a single preference.

"Again, it looks as though the presidential race will be all about Ohio, probably Central Ohio in particular," said Franklin County Republican Executive Committee Chairman Doug Preisse.

"Our national party needs to know what Republican activists in this area are thinking about the GOP nominee," observed Franklin County Republican Central Committee Chairman Brad Sinnott.

The results of the straw poll, with 428 ballots cast, are:

Ron Paul 53.50%
Herman Cain 25.47%
Mitt Romney 8.88%
Newt Gingrich 5.37%
Rick Perry 2.80%
Jon Huntsman 2.10%
Rick Santorum .93%
Michele Bachmann .47%
Write-In .47%

Wednesday evening, anti-abortion activist and Christian Domionist Mark Harrington and his latest knock off organization, Created Equal, protested a private fashion show fundraiser for Planned Parenthood of Central Ohio held at the Shadowbox Theatre on S. Front Street. .While any excuse to picket Planned Parenthood is a good excuse for Harrington, this event billed as "Condom Couture"--condom-inspired fashion with a cause" has driven the usually stay-at-home Harrington into the street. (As this piece was going to press I learned that some kind of altercation occured with Created Equal, Planned Parenthood security, and Columbus police. I am trying to suss this out and will report on it later if I learn anything.)

Maybe it's because this isn't' just some rubber chicken banquet. It's $ponsored by the marketing research firm One Point Contact, Continental Real Estate Companies, the Crane Group, and Teva Women's Health. I have no idea who showed up this year, but last year’s local luminaries included Mary and Bob Lazarus, Howard Sirak, and Channel 10's Andrea Cambern. Not a rubber chicken in sight.

Occupy Columbus unanimous in support of union fight to repeal SB5
The Occupy Columbus General Assembly has voted unanimous support to the union fight to repeal SB5. This is the first specific issue the local group has formally endorsed. Occupy Columbus met for its weekly General Assembly at Bicentennial Park Amphitheater last night (October 18).

Other issues of concern but not yet formally adopted by the group include publicly funded elections, over-reaching corporate influence in politics, home foreclosures, extraordinary debt incurred by college students, and protecting social safety programs like Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, and programs for women, children, the elderly and the poor.

The group also authorized their legal team to continue talks with City officials to obtain a site for their occupation camp. So far the City has stonewalled requests. A request to City Council to intervene on the group’s behalf was denied on Monday night.

Show your support this afternoon around 5 by coming to Broad and High or city hall as we present a petition to Columbus City council for a long-term site for what would be essentially a tent city for Occupy Columbus. If you can't make it to that, help out in any other way you can in the fight to defeat corporate rule, making our government more accountable to We the People. A better world is possible. We will graciously accept however much money or time you can spare, whatever talents you may have to share, and whatever else you can donate such as food, water---you name it. Showing up in-person is best, but you can visit our site at occupycolumbus.org or find us on Facebook.

On September 27, the Ohio Senate passed HB 63, an Ohio Right Right to Life (ORTL) bill to "tighten" up the procedures by which unmarried women in Ohio under the age of 18 can get an abortion without parental notification and consent. The passage of HB 63 is another tool to hack away at abortion access in the state. The bill, however, gives us the opportunity to expose the duplicitous nature of ORTL's fraudulent concerns about "informed consent" "parental involvement" and "best interests" of teen women.. Dubious at best, these bytes spewed out to the public are nullified by ORTL's sponsorship, support, and promotion of Ohio's "safe haven law," which encourages women-- and targets teens especially-- to hide pregnancies, give birth unattended, and to turn over their newborns anonymously to the state with no counseling, no parental involvement, and no health care, all under their "pro-life" banner.

JUDICIAL BYPASS

More music at our gatherings would help move the movement, as would bigger signs enable more people in passing autos to be able to read what we have to say. But on this blustery vivid fall afternoon, we at least had Steve Schoonover come down here from Michigan and sing something by Coner Oberst of Bright Eyes.

Schoonover said people are waking up, realizing the power of moral ideas.

“We need to have some moral respect for people in a way we haven’t in a long time.”

Schoonover said building a movement requires clarity about tactics, strategy, and specific goals, as well as set of values and attitudes on which to base that sort of planning.

Terry Smith wrote a thoughtful and provocative article in the Oct. 6 issue of The Athens News with the title “Can our region really afford to say no to ‘fracking’.” Terry’s analysis sides with those who want regulation of fracking but he is also concerned that Athens needs jobs and revenue. He speculates reasonably that the gas companies will make great profits on their investments in the Wayne National Forest and elsewhere in Athens City and County. Therefore, government and taxpayers should expect they should” pay more to protect local water supplies.” The implication of Terry’s stance is that, given the concerns of local folks and the ongoing economic distress of the area, gas companies be required to put some of their profits into a fund to pay for any damage they do to the environment.