How an unwanted guardianship cost a firefighter his freedom and his fortune
Norman Baker is an American hero who has been detained against his will for more than three years.
His "crime": owning too much property.
His sentence: a court-appointed guardianship on the brink of costing him everything he spent his life building.
His rights in this case: virtually none, significantly less in many ways than an actual law-breaking criminal.
His future if this continues: long-term de facto imprisonment, followed by abject poverty, if he has anything left at all.
A retired firefighter who once helped save a child's life, Norman Baker is not suspected of terrorism. He has never been charged with any statutory infraction, and has never been in any kind of trouble with the law. But he has been stripped of his right to vote and access to his own assets, which appear to have been weel in excess of $1 million as little as three years ago.
His "crime": owning too much property.
His sentence: a court-appointed guardianship on the brink of costing him everything he spent his life building.
His rights in this case: virtually none, significantly less in many ways than an actual law-breaking criminal.
His future if this continues: long-term de facto imprisonment, followed by abject poverty, if he has anything left at all.
A retired firefighter who once helped save a child's life, Norman Baker is not suspected of terrorism. He has never been charged with any statutory infraction, and has never been in any kind of trouble with the law. But he has been stripped of his right to vote and access to his own assets, which appear to have been weel in excess of $1 million as little as three years ago.
Antioch College faculty re-file lawsuit against the university
March 11, 2008—Members of the Antioch College faculty today announced that they have re-filed their original lawsuit against Antioch University and its Board of Trustees. They had withdrawn their lawsuit without prejudice in November of 2007, which meant that it could be re-filed at any time.
Ninety percent of tenured faculty members who are currently teaching and wish to be part of Non-Stop Antioch filed for a permanent injunction against the Antioch University Board of Trustees in the Greene County Ohio Common Pleas Court. The legal request for injunctive relief asks the court to enjoin Antioch University from suspending College operations, from terminating the employment of the College faculty, from disposing of any College assets, and engage with the ACCC to amicably complete their negotiations allowing the ACCC to take responsibility for the college.
After the Antioch College faculty withdrew their lawsuit in November, an alumni group known as the Antioch College Continuation Corporation (ACCC) formed to negotiate with Antioch University for ownership of Antioch College.
Ohio's primary and election reform – the good, the bad and the ugly
Co-written with Ron Baiman
The good news is that visible strides were made in re-enfranchising Ohio’s Franklin County (Columbus) inner city urban voters in the March 4, 2008 primary. Voting machines and paper ballots were plentiful and equally distributed.
But,the bad news is that the discrepancy between the preliminary exit poll data and the unofficial vote tallies was reminiscent of the improbable results of the 2004 presidential election in Ohio between John Kerry and George W. Bush.
While the Clinton-Obama results are more probable than the Kerry-Bush results of 2004, they are still highly suspect and suggest statistically significant flaws in the exit polling or in the recording of Ohio votes.
In their "day after" analysis, the Washington Post reported (on page A9) that the Ohio Democratic presidential primary "preliminary exit poll results show the makeup of the electorate and how it voted."
The preliminary exit poll information showed Clinton beating Obama by 3.26% -- Clinton with 51.13% and Obama with 47.87%.
The good news is that visible strides were made in re-enfranchising Ohio’s Franklin County (Columbus) inner city urban voters in the March 4, 2008 primary. Voting machines and paper ballots were plentiful and equally distributed.
But,the bad news is that the discrepancy between the preliminary exit poll data and the unofficial vote tallies was reminiscent of the improbable results of the 2004 presidential election in Ohio between John Kerry and George W. Bush.
While the Clinton-Obama results are more probable than the Kerry-Bush results of 2004, they are still highly suspect and suggest statistically significant flaws in the exit polling or in the recording of Ohio votes.
In their "day after" analysis, the Washington Post reported (on page A9) that the Ohio Democratic presidential primary "preliminary exit poll results show the makeup of the electorate and how it voted."
The preliminary exit poll information showed Clinton beating Obama by 3.26% -- Clinton with 51.13% and Obama with 47.87%.
Primary day at the polls in Columbus, Ohio
COLUMBUS, OH I arrived at the Free Press office with two six-packs of Newcastle and a flask full of good bourbon whiskey, prepared for whatever ill assignments may be levied in my direction. Dr. Bob was hurrying off to school, declining the beer, but they sent me to the Sullivant Gardens to cover the polling. Today is March 4th and, by all counts, the most important day of the campaign since Super Tuesday. Perhaps it is even more important, because for those of us who were paying attention, the results of Super Tuesday were a foregone conclusion, but today all the weirdness really manifested itself and the race for the presidency is in full swing. If Hillary Clinton can hang on to any of these critical states, Texas, Ohio, Vermont or Rhode Island, than she will almost certainly press on until the final stupidity and those of us hungry for Political Entertainment will get a brokered convention.
Ohio primary voting off to slow start
COLUMBUS, OHIO 11:00AM --
Free Press reporters returned on Tuesday to the site of long lines and
hours-long voting delays in the 2004 election and found low voter turnout,
short waits and no major voting problems as Ohio's 2008 primary voting began
on March 4th.
There were no reports of voter challenges of likely Barack Obama voters by apparent Hillary Clinton supporters. Ohio's primary is open, meaning people can cross party lines to pick a presidential nominee in any party.
At a dozen African-American majority precincts on the east side of Columbus, no more than 12 percent of the voters already cast ballots by Election Day, according to surveys by reporters. Typically, the lines were short, with the longest taking 15 minutes to vote. Compared to 2004 and 2006, there appeared to be twice as many voting machines and voters also were able to vote on a paper ballot if requested.
There were no reports of voter challenges of likely Barack Obama voters by apparent Hillary Clinton supporters. Ohio's primary is open, meaning people can cross party lines to pick a presidential nominee in any party.
At a dozen African-American majority precincts on the east side of Columbus, no more than 12 percent of the voters already cast ballots by Election Day, according to surveys by reporters. Typically, the lines were short, with the longest taking 15 minutes to vote. Compared to 2004 and 2006, there appeared to be twice as many voting machines and voters also were able to vote on a paper ballot if requested.
OSU students demand environmental justice; stage sit-in at President Gordon Gee's office
Today President Gordon Gee of The Ohio State University is cowering in
his office, denying a meeting with representatives of student group
Free the Planet! OSU and fellow supporters of The Grassy Narrows First
Nation. Protesters serenaded the building with a drum circle, chants,
banners, and signs. Chants included: "Gordon Gee, yes you could, stop
buying old-growth wood!" and "Tell me what solidarity looks like! This
is what solidarity looks like!"
About two hours ago, five students at Ohio State began a sit-in to
demand ethical standards for the purchase of wood and paper. Members
of Free the Planet!, a student group on campus, vow to stay until
President Gordon Gee signs an agreement to stop the University from
buying wood products obtained from Indigenous conflict areas and to
include more recycled content in paper and lumber used on campus.
(More about Grassy Narrows here: http://freegrassy.org/
Police are reportedly on the scene, but have not indicated any intent to arrest at this point.
About two hours ago, five students at Ohio State began a sit-in to
demand ethical standards for the purchase of wood and paper. Members
of Free the Planet!, a student group on campus, vow to stay until
President Gordon Gee signs an agreement to stop the University from
buying wood products obtained from Indigenous conflict areas and to
include more recycled content in paper and lumber used on campus.
(More about Grassy Narrows here: http://freegrassy.org/
Police are reportedly on the scene, but have not indicated any intent to arrest at this point.
WCRS Community Radio celebrates eight months on the air!
For those in the Central Ohio area who have not already had the pleasure of listening, WCRS, also known as Simply Living Radio, started broadcasting on a five hour per day schedule in late June 2007. Broadcast hours are currently from 3-7 pm Monday through Friday. The low power FM (LPFM) signal is found on two frequencies, 102.1 and 98.3. The 98.3 frequency is broadcast from southwest Columbus and has a stronger signal. This is actually a “translator” beacon provided by the generous support of the Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism which publishes The Free Press in Columbus. Westerville is the location of the 102.1 broadcast tower and is the “home signal”. WCRS instantly became the LPFM station with the largest metropolitan market in the country!
McKinney urges review of ''Lucasville Five' convictions
Cynthia McKinney, a former U.S. Representative and current presidential candidate, has joined a campaign to win pardons for five wrongfully convicted death row inmates.
Will Ohio be left behind by the green energy revolution?
Testimony to the Public Utilities Commission of the Ohio House, January 30, 2008
Thank you for allowing me to testify today.
I am a resident of central Ohio and author, or co-author, of a dozen books, including four on energy. My most recent is SOLARTOPIA! OUR GREEN-POWERED EARTH, which is graced by an introduction by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and has been captured in song by Pete Seeger.
My message today is simple: any state that allows the construction of new nuclear power plants in the face of today’s global industrial competition and financial turmoil will be committing economic suicide.
Any energy legislation that allows any kind of incentive to build such reactors dooms itself to the failures of the last century, not the successes of the new one. Thus the 12.5% of future electric production that is left open to nuclear power and coal in this new energy bill should be transformed and devoted entirely to renewables and efficiency.
There is nothing “advanced” about atomic energy.
Thank you for allowing me to testify today.
I am a resident of central Ohio and author, or co-author, of a dozen books, including four on energy. My most recent is SOLARTOPIA! OUR GREEN-POWERED EARTH, which is graced by an introduction by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and has been captured in song by Pete Seeger.
My message today is simple: any state that allows the construction of new nuclear power plants in the face of today’s global industrial competition and financial turmoil will be committing economic suicide.
Any energy legislation that allows any kind of incentive to build such reactors dooms itself to the failures of the last century, not the successes of the new one. Thus the 12.5% of future electric production that is left open to nuclear power and coal in this new energy bill should be transformed and devoted entirely to renewables and efficiency.
There is nothing “advanced” about atomic energy.
In-depth, post-EVEREST interview with Ohio's Secretary of State
Jennifer Brunner Responds to Kudos, Criticism Following State's Massive and Disturbing E-Voting Assessment
'The last thing I want for my state, is to be looked at as a pariah, like it was for 2004'
The BRAD BLOG spoke on Wednesday, by telephone, with Ohio's Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, for an exclusive in-depth interview following the release of her state's unprecedented "Evaluation & Validation of Election-Related Equipment, Standards & Testing" (EVEREST) review of e-voting systems.
While the bi-partisan, multi-teamed, scientific testing carried out, by a unique combination of both corporate and academic computer scientists and security experts, has won praise from most, if not all (see, predictably, here and here) quarters, the specific recommendations for changes to Ohio's voting system in its wake, as made by Brunner, have garnered a fair amount of criticism and concern from Election Integrity and Administration experts. Indeed, The BRAD BLOG has reported a number of our own concerns about those recommendations, as detailed last Friday upon the release of the report.
'The last thing I want for my state, is to be looked at as a pariah, like it was for 2004'
The BRAD BLOG spoke on Wednesday, by telephone, with Ohio's Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, for an exclusive in-depth interview following the release of her state's unprecedented "Evaluation & Validation of Election-Related Equipment, Standards & Testing" (EVEREST) review of e-voting systems.
While the bi-partisan, multi-teamed, scientific testing carried out, by a unique combination of both corporate and academic computer scientists and security experts, has won praise from most, if not all (see, predictably, here and here) quarters, the specific recommendations for changes to Ohio's voting system in its wake, as made by Brunner, have garnered a fair amount of criticism and concern from Election Integrity and Administration experts. Indeed, The BRAD BLOG has reported a number of our own concerns about those recommendations, as detailed last Friday upon the release of the report.