Left of Ohio Is Done
Just a quick note to remind everyone that Left of Ohio is ending it's run. New posts can be found at http://www.ohiovalleypolitics.com/.
The cross posting also didn't work out so well.
Moving
Friday, October 26, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Rep. Steve Chabot Still Hates Children
The group "American's United for Change" has sent out a press release slamming Ohio Rep. Steve Chabot (R- 1st district) over his vote against today's SCHIP bill.
In the release Jeremy Funk, a spokesman for the group, had the following remarks on Chabot's vote:
“No thanks to Rep. Steve Chabot, today 122,000 more kids in Ohio are one step closer to receiving the health care they need. Not illegal immigrants -- not adults and children from high-income families. These are kids whose parents work but can’t afford private insurance and are not disadvantaged enough to qualify for Medicaid. Yet, plum out of excuses and grasping for straws, Rep. Chabot still stood with Bush over the thousands of parents in his district who go to bed every night praying their children don’t get sick or hurt.”
“Serious questions about Rep. Chabot’s priorities need to be asked. How is that that, without question, Rep. Chabot can continue to vote to give this President hundreds of billions of dollars for a failed policy in Iraq and then can turnaround and without justification oppose a fraction of that on healthcare for kids in need?”
Zack Space's Reaction To New SCHIP Veto Threat
Congressman Zack Space of the 18th district has put out a press release criticizing House Republicans for continuing to block efforts to extend the SCHIP program after efforts were made to address their previous concerns.
In the release Space says:
“No matter how hard we try, it appears as though nothing will make a majority of House Republicans change their minds on providing health insurance to our children.
“I find it unconscionable to believe that, for the third time, a handful of Republicans would place their own political goals over the health and well-being of our nation’s children. 145,000 children in Ohio are at risk of losing their health insurance because Republicans are so eager to score points with the insurance industry. This is not only inappropriate – it is astounding.”
-- Rep. Zack Space
As I mentioned earlier, the new compromise bill passed by a margin of 265-142 (the veto override attempt on the last bill had a vote of 273-156 and had a higher turnout). President Bush has already announced his intention to veto this bill as well.
SCHIP Passes Again, Going To Get Vetoed Again
Once again President Bush is threatening to veto the SCHIP bill, despite the fact that the bill was changed to alleviate prior concerns with the bill.
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- President Bush will veto a revised bill for the State Children's Health Insurance Program, the White House said Thursday, as the new plan doesn't meaningfully address prior objections.
The revision still calls for a hike on tobacco product taxes to fund a $35 billion expansion over SCHIP's current $25 billion five-year funding baseline.
"Of course [Bush] would veto it -- in some ways this bill is worse than the previous bill," said Tony Fratto, White House spokesman. "It raises taxes on working Americans in order to move people from private insurance to public assistance. No tax increase of any kind is needed to fund this program."
Today's proposal passed by a margin of 265-142, but still isn't enough to override a veto.
Source: Bush threatens to veto revised health insurance plan - MarketWatch
The Only Constant Is Change
It's time to get serious for a second. Over the last year this blog has honestly changed my life. It's opened up opportunities that I'd never imagined I'd have. It's also been a learning experience, through my efforts here I've been able to see some of what goes on behind the scenes of the political process.
Because of all this it's with some regret that I'm announcing the end of Left of Ohio. I'll still post here for a little while (days, maybe weeks), but it will no longer be the priority for me that it has been in the past.
But...
It's not all bad news. In fact it's not really bad news at all (unless of course you hate me, then it's extremely bad news). The reason I'm phasing out Left of Ohio is because I'm moving on to something new.
After the last election it seemed clear that Ohio was turning into a blue state, therefore I was no longer to the political left of the rest of the state and the name had to go (plus I've always hated the name "Left of Ohio").
I've also started to feel limited by the Blogger platform and the challenges presented by not having my own hosting. If I wanted to upload a file other than a picture or video I was always forced to look for an outside service. If I wanted a new feature I had to wait for Blogger to develop it instead of just being able to install a plugin. Eventually looking for all these creative solutions started to take up so much time that I just threw posts and drafts out rather than find ways to make them work.
Back in June I finally decided it was time for a change. At that point I set up a local (only available on my computer) version of WordPress and started playing around with it. I was impressed by how easy it was to use and the wide array of features it offered (both by itself and through plugins) and worked out a plan to switch over to a new blog by early 2008. Since then I've been slowly building a site offline.
As my frustration with Blogger built up and news seemed to slow down recently the plan was accelerated. I also realized it might not be a good idea to try and make such a switch during an election year might not be the best idea in the world.
To make a long story short; the new website, Ohio Valley Politics, is live and waiting.
Some Important Notes:
- The email address david@leftofohio.com will still work and be checked regularly for at least a year (probably more). My new primary email address is david@ohiovalleypolitics.com.
- I own the LeftofOhio.com for a few years yet, so links will still work. I also may renew the domain if traffic still persists.
- As of this point OVP will be my primary blog, if something goes horribly wrong I'll fallback here.
- For a little while I'll cross post here until everything is completely setup.
- The new RSS feed is http://www.ohiovalleypolitics.com/feed/.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Governor Strickland Is Throwing A Party
Governor Ted Strickland will be stepping out of his official role next month to hold a fundraiser aimed at making sure Ohio continues it trend towards blue during next years presidential election.
The event, called "The Circle of Friends Reception", will take place in Columbus on November 16th. Tickets to the event will cost $150 and you must RSVP by November 2nd. If your rich you can also buy tickets to a private reception with the Governor for $2500 per couple. You can find more information at the event RSVP page.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
John Ratzenberger Coming To Columbus To Talk About Trade
John Ratzenberger, known for playing the postman on Cheers, will be in Columbus early next month to host a town hall forum called “Keep it Made in America”. The town hall will focus on preserving American manufacturing.
If your interested in going the event will be held on Thursday, Nov. 8, at The Columbus Athenaeum,
The conference will also visit these other cites as well:
- Tuesday, September 25th - Manchester, NH
- Wednesday, October 17th - Des Moines, IA
- Thursday, November 8th - Columbus, OH
- Tuesday, November 13th - Pittsburgh, PA
- Thursday, November 29th - Buffalo, NY
They've also got plans for stops in Chicago and South Carolina, though dates haven't been announced yet.
More information on the events can be found on the "Keep It In America" page of the Alliance for American Manufacturing website. There's no word as to whether or not everybody at the conference will know your name.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
