Left Of Ohio: 2007-01-28

Friday, February 02, 2007

Governor Strickland Now Has An RSS Feed

There's not a whole lot to say on it, just that it's a great addition.

The feed: http://governor2.ohio.gov/News/tabid/55/moduleid/455/RSS.aspx

Bush Plays The Jobs Card In global Warming Debate

Typical Bush move, play the economy card. Why not? It's worked for tax cuts and... hey, wasn't the war supposed to create some new jobs?

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Despite a strongly worded global warming report from the world's top climate scientists, the Bush administration expressed continued opposition Friday to mandatory reductions in heat-trapping "greenhouse" gases.

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman warned against "unintended consequences" -- including job losses -- that he said might result if the government requires economy-wide caps on carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels.

Source: Lawmakers square off on climate report - CNN.com

Zack Space Needs Some Job Security

This probably won't come as a surprise to anyone. Zack Space of Ohio's 18th district is considered to be one of the most vulnerable Congressmen in the country.

* Ohio's 18th District (D): From the start of the 2006 race, Rep. Zack Space was underestimated. National Democrats offered early support to his Democratic primary rival and many thought his general election race against state Sen. Joy Padgett (R) would be far closer than the end result. Because of his stronger-than-expected showing last cycle, we're hesitant to dismiss Space's chances of holding this seat in 2008. That said, he must prove that he can win a race that is not a referendum on corruption within the GOP ranks both locally and nationally.

Source: The Line: Vulnerable '08 House Seats - The Fix

Bob Taft Actually Did The Right Thing?

Remember hearing about that big check $26,844.00 Bob Taft sent to the BWC as a "contribution refund"? Well it turns out that he was refunding all the donations he had received from Tom Noe and his wife over the years.

During his final weeks in office, former Gov. Bob Taft took care of one last obligation related to the controversy that plagued the final year and a half of his administration.

His campaign committee sent a check for $26,844 to the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation to cover the contributions Taft had received from coin dealer Thomas W. Noe and his wife over the years.

Can you believe it? Bob Taft is actually capable of doing the right thing. Granted this is more of a 'string him up if he didn't' issue opposed to a 'let's throw him a parade' issue but I really didn't think he had it in him.

Source: The Columbus Dispatch - Local/State

Follow Up On Child Left In Bus

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about a local special needs student that was left alone on a bus for an entire school day. The bus driver in the incident has been charged with both patient and child neglect. Amazingly the child's parents are opposed to the driver receiving jail time.

Read More: WTOV 9

An Email From Sherrod Brown

Sherrod Brown sent out an email in support of the DSCC earlier today. Full text below in case you didn't get it.

Dear David,

Two years ago, the pundits said the Democrats didn't have a chance in Ohio. But committed people like you got behind my Senate campaign and in the end, we were at the leading edge of a Democratic wave that washed over Ohio. Thank you so much.
For too long, Republicans have left Ohio out to dry with their soak the rich tax cuts and unfair trade agreements that ship our jobs abroad. No more.

With Democrats controlling the House and the Senate, your Congress will once again be looking out for the American worker.

Now that you have helped me reach the Senate, I want to keep you in touch with the one national organization that was behind me from the very beginning of my campaign: the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), which has the sole mandate of electing more Democrats to the U.S. Senate.

The work the DSCC does over the next two years will be so important to me and everyone who lives in Ohio. If we elect more Democrats to the Senate in 2008, we will be able to build on our progressive agenda.

I would never be the Senator from Ohio if not for you. You have my most sincere thanks. I hope you'll stand with me and the DSCC as we work to expand the Democratic majority in 2008.

Sincerely,

Senator Sherrod Brown

P.S. The DSCC is already hard at work to elect Democrats in the U.S. Senate in 2008 and we want to keep you updated on our progress. However, if you do not wish to receive future emails from the DSCC, please click here to opt out.

I wonder if Mike DeWine sent out any emails in support of any Republican campaign committee's? By the way they all dumped him and ran I'm gonna say probably not.

Written at 10:50 P.M. on 2/01/07 to be posted when I have an Internet connection.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

New Firefox Search Plugin For Ohio Blog Search

I finally got around to putting together a Firefox search plugin for the recently created "Ohio Progressive Blog" Google Co-op search.

Keep in mind that I haven't done one of these in over a year and I'm not much of a programmer so there might be a few bugs. Also the logo looks pretty sad at the moment (the little red dot is actually the words "Ohio Blogs"). It's supposed to update every seven days so maybe I'll work on it.

Get it here: Mycroft Project: Sherlock & OpenSearch Search Engine Plugins

Al Gore Up For Nobel Peace Prize

What's it going to take for you to run Al? You've got a successful documentary under your belt that's been nominated for a few awards. You've now joined the ranks of people like Bono that have been nominated for a Nobel Prize (though to be fair that Rush Limbaugh @$$hole has been nominated this year as well). What more do you want?

Gore was nominated by a Conservative Norwegian lawmaker for his work in raising awareness of global warming.

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Molly Ivins Dies Of Breast Cancer

Columnist Molly Ivins (8/30/1944 - 1/31/2007) has lost her battle with breast cancer.

I bought one of her books a while back, "BUSHWHACKED: Life in George W. Bush's America" (Ironically the same order included Al Franken's "Lies And The Lying Liars That Tell Them", another author making headlines today) and read a few of her columns. Her writing and viewpoint will be missed greatly.

Ohio's Lottery Is The Nations Most Expensive

Ohio's state run lottery is the most expensive to administer in the nation according to a recent Reuters article. It came in at $271.8 million, about $20 million more than Oregon, the next most expensive.

Al Franken Is Running For The Senate

Both ABC and Political Wire are reporting that Al Franken will run for a Senate seat in Minnesota. ABC is even running the story as breaking news with the little red header box on every page.

C-SPAN 2 is about to get much more interesting.

California May Ban Regular Light Bulbs

This is amazing. California legislature may move to ban regular incandescent light bulbs in favor of more energy efficient compact fluorescent bulbs.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - How many people does it take to change a light bulb? In California, the answer could be a majority of the Legislature as part of the state's groundbreaking initiatives to reduce energy use and greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.

The "How Many Legislators Does it Take to Change a Light Bulb Act" would ban incandescent light bulbs by 2012 in favor of energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs.

Also check out this article about the Eiffel Tower going dark to raise awareness.

Source: Move in Calif. to ban traditional light bulbs - Environment - MSNBC.com

Bob Ney Sorry About His Corruption? Heck No!

Bob Ney (far right), despite his claims that he was a victim of alcohol, seems to have been as corrupt as he ever was even when he was in rehab. After dropping his re-election bid in August last year, Ney kept paying his wife her campaign salary until at least the end of the year.

Read More: The Columbus Dispatch - Local/State via Plunderbund

Blogging Ohio Closing Up Shop

A blog that I've subscribed to for a while, Blogging Ohio, is closing up shop today.

Sometimes good things and fun projects come to a close. For a variety of reasons AOL/Weblogs Inc. is consolidating some of its more niche blogs, and stopping publication of others. This includes Blogging Ohio. This will be our last post and our last day.

Source: Blogging Ohio ceases publication today - Blogging Ohio

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Obama Introduces Iraq De-escalation Act

Barack Obama sent out an email tonight stating that he was introducing the "Iraq War De-escalation Act of 2007". The act calls for a cap on the number of troops in Iraq as well as implementing a phased withdrawal that would pull all troops out of Iraq by 3/31/08.

Dear David,

Today, we sadly find ourselves at the very point in Iraq I feared most when I opposed giving the President the open-ended authority to wage this war in 2002 – an occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences in the midst of a country torn by civil war.

We have waited and we have been patient. We have given chance after chance for a resolution that has not come, and, more importantly, watched with horror and grief the tragic loss of thousands of brave young Americans.
The time for waiting in Iraq is over. The days of our open-ended commitment must come to a close. And the need to bring this war to an end is here.

That is why today, I’m introducing the Iraq War De-escalation Act of 2007. This plan would not only place a cap on the number of troops in Iraq and stop the escalation, it would begin a phased redeployment of U.S. forces with the goal of removing of all U.S. combat forces from Iraq by March 31st, 2008 – consistent with the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group that the President ignored.

The redeployment of troops to the United States , Afghanistan , and elsewhere in the region would begin no later than May 1st of this year, toward the end of the timeframe I first proposed in a speech more than two months ago. In a civil war where no military solution exists, this redeployment remains our best leverage to pressure the Iraqi government to achieve the political settlement between its warring factions that can slow the bloodshed and promote stability.

The U.S. military has performed valiantly and brilliantly in Iraq . Our troops have done all we have asked them to do and more. But no amount of American soldiers can solve the political differences at the heart of somebody else’s civil war, nor settle the grievances in the hearts of the combatants.

When it comes to the war in Iraq, the time for promises and assurances, for waiting and patience, is over. Too many lives have been lost and too many billions have been spent for us to trust the President on another tried and failed policy opposed by generals and experts, Democrats and Republicans, Americans and even the Iraqis themselves.

It is time to change our policy.

It is time to give Iraqis their country back.

And it is time to refocus America ’s efforts on the challenges we face at home and the wider struggle against terror yet to be won.

Sincerely,

U.S. Senator Barack Obama

White House Puts Pressure On Global Warming Scientists

It turns out that the White House has been pressuring scientists to downplay reports on global warming.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. scientists were pressured to tailor their writings on global warming to fit the Bush administration's skepticism, in some cases at the behest of a former oil-industry lobbyist, a congressional committee heard on Tuesday.

"Our investigations found high-quality science struggling to get out," Francesca Grifo of the watchdog group Union of Concerned Scientists told members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

A survey by the group found that 150 climate scientists personally experienced political interference in the past five years, for a total of at least 435 incidents.

Is anyone really surprised? He lied us into war and now he's lied about global warming, notice a pattern? Once again I'd like to urge everyone to go rent "An Inconvenient Truth".

Source: Scientists charge White House pressure on warming | Top News | Reuters.com

Some Blog Updates

I've been busy today working on a few things. First off I've made some changes to the Ohio Political Calendar. The big change is that it now has a new address to reflect it being moved to the Left of Ohio Google app's calendar from my personal Google account. I've also added a few new events like Zack Space's "Colbert Report" appearance and the sate democratic party dinner. Check it out for more on those events and feel free to email me with additions.

I've also set up a Google Co-op search engine for the Ohio blogs. Currently it searches the following sites:

bluebex.blogspot.com
www.dailykos.com/tag/Ohio
http://ohio2006elections.blogspot.com
http://www.ohiodems.org
www.paintohioblue.com
www.mcdac.blogspot.com
www.leftofohio.com
http://thebellwetherdaily.blogspot.com/
http://glasscityjungle.com/wordpress/
http://modern-esquire.blogspot.com/
http://www.asohiogoes.com/
http://governor.ohio.gov/
http://modern-esquire.blogspot.com/
http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/openers/
http://psychobillydem.blogspot.com/
http://phosnorkapages.blogspot.com/
http://www.licopac.org/
http://www.brewedfreshdaily.com/
governor.ohio.gov
http://www.buckeyestateblog.com/
http://www.meetthebloggers.net/
http://ohiodailyblog.com/
http://www.plunderbund.com/
http://progressohio.org/
http://writeslikeshetalks.blogspot.com/

It can be found here or by using the search box in the "Blog Roll" section of the sidebar. Feel free to suggest additions to this as well.

Zack Space To Appear On "The Colbert Report"

According to the Chillicothe Gazette newly elected 18th District Rep. Zack Space recently recorded an interview with Steven Colbert for his Comedy Central show "The Colbert Report". The interview, a part of Colbert's "Better Know A District" series, is scheduled to air on Wednesday, February the 7th at 11:30 P.M. with reruns the next day.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Al Franken Leaving Air America Radio, Considering Senate Run

Thankfully I still subscribe to the RSS feed for Al Franken's "Midwestern Values PAC", even though it's been light on updates since the election. If I'd deleted it I would have missed this little item. On his show today Al Franken announced that he will be leaving Air America Radio on February 14th and that he is considering a Senate run in Minnesota.

They also have an MP3 of the announcement.

Define Irony: The Truth Hurts

I saw a story today on MSNBC's political news feed about the White House hiring a new pastry chef and thought it must be a very slow news day. A little while later I saw a much more humorous post on the topic at Think Progress. Apparently the chef, William (Bill) Yosses, is also the co-author of the book "Dessert's for Dummies". Don't believe me? Check it out on Amazon.

Eric Vessels Leaving Progress Ohio

First Russell, now Eric... ? We need to implement some sort of stop-loss program before we lose Jeff, Jill, Jerid, and the other major talents in the Ohio progressive blog scene.

So I'm leaving ProgressOhio after having successfully launched what I hope will be a progressive force for years to come. I am quite confident that I'm leaving things in capable hands in Dave Harding. I have followed Dave since I first started Plunderbund and watched his work at UAPA's blog and then watched as he ran probably the best online operation among the Congressionals. Join me in welcoming Dave aboard and give him your full support. He's gonna take this to a whole new level. I'll do everything I can from the outside now to see that it succeeds. I hope you all will join me in that. When you look at what went on at this weekend's RootsCamp event, it is clear that there is a strong movement and a great many individuals willing to get things done. A buddy of mine asked out loud as we were standing around during a break in the action at the Y: "Look around. You think the right has any idea what they are dealing with?"

Nope. I don't.

Who's going to box Matt now? Jokes aside, I wish Eric the best of luck with his business and the same to Dave Harding with his new position.

You can read Eric's full post by following the link below.

Source: Progress Ohio | Eric Vessels's Blog: The Post I Didn't Wanna Write...

Originally written at 5:14 P.M. on 1/29/07. To be posted later when I have an Internet connection.

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