Category Archives: news

Revolving door undermines public trust in government

Posted on January 4, 2010 by | Leave a comment

By John Mitchel

RE: Local contractors under scrutiny for using paid military “mentors”, Dayton Daily News, December 30, 2009: Many consider Gen. Bill Creech as “father of the modern Air Force.”

During his distinguished career and before he died in 2003, Gen. Creech practiced and preached the notion that the most important responsibility of a leader is to train new leaders. “Mentoring” was on Gen. Creech’s short list of important tasks required to prepare Air Force leaders for the future. However, simultaneous receipt of $1600 a day mentoring fees plus a six-figure military pension plus hundreds of thousands in consulting fees from defense contractors doesn’t seem to fit Gen. Creech’s noble intentions of preparing Air Force leaders for challenges they may face in the future. Besides, each senior officer participating in the Air Force mentoring program has more than 30 years experience on active duty. That should be sufficient time to positively instill the core values of duty, honor, country in subordinates of all ranks, and especially the senior troops who more senior officers deal with on a daily basis.

“Mentors for hire” may seem abusive to some, but it pales in comparison to the ease and speed in which elected officials and their staff members pass through the “revolving door.” Take for example Congressman Dave Hobson, who retired a multi-millionaire after nearly 30 years of public service, then took a job as a lobbyist for Vorys Advisors, a subsidiary of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease, LLC, a Columbus law firm. And let’s not forget Congressman Steve Austria’s wife Eileen, who moved from Congressman Dave Hobson’s District Director to Director of Sales and Marketing with Nextedge Development Corporation, a non-profit, tax exempt company 60-70 percent financed by tax dollars including federal earmarks requested by Dave Hobson and Third Frontier and other state funding sponsored by Steve Austria when he was in the Ohio General Assembly. It’s no wonder approval ratings for Congress are at all-time lows.

If the revolving door between government and the private sector should exist at all, it should be with two conditions; full and open disclosure, and a reasonable cooling off period, especially at the most senior levels. Instead, the usual suspects prefer to conceal their self-dealing with faceless private corporations, and more often than not, through non-profit, tax exempt entities financed mostly with taxpayer dollars. Term limits, self imposed or otherwise, would be a step in the right direction to mitigate the revolving door issue for federal elected officials. That would motivate our congressional leaders to act as citizen legislators who serve for a time, and then return to their home districts to enjoy the liberty and freedom they helped protect as representatives of the people. The longer we allow the self-dealing career politician mindset to prevail in Washington and Columbus, the closer we will come to America falling into the abyss.

John Mitchel was a candidate for Ohio governor in 1998 and ran for U.S. House of Representatives in the 7th Congressional District in 2008. In 2006 he wrote and self-published America at the Abyss: A View from the Heartland.

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Who will be awake at 12:01AM January 1, 2010

Posted on December 31, 2009 by | Leave a comment

If a poll taken by Ramussen today is any indicator, 62 percent of Xenia residents will awake to celebrate the beginning of a New Year. About 75 percent of adults under 30 will be praying, toasting, cheering, or kissing during the New Year’s arrival, but only 41 percent of adults over 30 will be doing the same. That means of the 38 percent of Xenians will be snoring at the New Year. Among those lazy rebels will be 25 percent will under 30s and and 69 percent of the over-the-hill-gang (those over 30).

Those who intend to still be awake at 12:01 are like to be one of the following places: 23 percent will be relaxing at home, 11 percent will be at a friends home, 5 percent will be bashing at a restaurant or bar, 13 percent will be still be wondering around, and 10 percent are not revealing where swanky place will be. Of course, the 38 percent who intend to be asleep at 12:01 AM did not say in whose bed they would presumably be snoring away. Maybe those who will be praying could pray for them as well. You never know it just might make a good and happy New Year become a reality. Anything is possible in Xenia.

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Why I Signed the Manhattan Declaration

Posted on December 31, 2009 by | Leave a comment

By Gary Palmer

On November 20, 2009 a group of nationally known and respected Christian leaders set forth an historic declaration.

The Manhattan Declaration is a long overdue message from men and women of faith to all those in political power from state and local governments to the federal government and its myriad bureaucracies. The Declaration focuses on three foundational principles of justice and the common good on which the signers will not compromise: the sanctity of human life in all stages and conditions; the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife; and religious liberty and freedom of conscience.

The Declaration states, “Because the sanctity of human life, the dignity of marriage as a union of husband and wife, and the freedom of conscience and religion are foundational principles of justice and the common good, we are compelled by our Christian faith to speak and act in their defense.”

Obviously, this is a direct challenge to the power of the government at every level but especially the federal government under the current dominant liberal regime. In an interview with Katherine Lopez of the National Review, Dr. Robert George, one of the principal authors of the Manhattan Declaration, said that important decisions are now being made, or soon will be made, by state and federal government on the issues addressed in the Declaration.

Dr. George said that as a result of the 2006 and 2008 elections there is unprecedented strength in both houses of Congress and in many state legislatures to push laws that advance the abortion agenda, that seek to legalize same-sex marriage, and that threaten religious liberty. In fact, some Christian groups have already come under assault.

In May 2006, Catholic Charities of Boston ended its 103 year ministry of providing adoption services to place foster children rather than comply with the Massachusetts state law that required them to place children with homosexuals. In addition, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is threatening to take action against Belmont Abbey College, a private Catholic college in North Carolina, because the college refuses to include insurance coverage for abortion and contraception in the college’s health insurance plan.

While both of these involve Catholic institutions, they could just as easily be Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian or any other denomination.

Lopez later asked Dr. George how the White House should take the Declaration. He responded, “I hope that President Obama will understand that the signatories to the Manhattan Declaration are determined to defend the sanctity of human life, the dignity of marriage, and respect for religious freedom. On these issues, they cannot compromise, and they will not remain silent.”

The Declaration’s signatories understand that the principles of the sanctity of life, the sanctity of marriage and religious freedom are under threat from powerful political and cultural forces in our nation. They want it understood that, as Christians, those who sign the Declaration regard these principles as non-negotiable, and will therefore be unceasing in their defense of them. A critical line of the declaration states, “We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence.”

In explaining why he signed the Manhattan Declaration, Dr. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky wrote that he signed it “…because I want to put my name on its final pledge — that we will not bend the knee to Caesar. We will not participate in any subversion of life. We will not be forced to accept any other relationship as equal in status or rights to heterosexual marriage. We will not refrain from proclaiming the truth — and we will order our churches and institutions and ministries by Christian conviction.”

Dr. Mohler was referring to the last lines of the Declaration that should be regarded as a solemn oath by all who sign it, “We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God’s.” Mohler then added, “I was encouraged that we could stand together to make clear that to come for one of us on these issues is to come for all.”

The opportunity to stand with other believers of such courage and moral clarity is why I signed the Declaration.

You can read the Manhattan Declaration at www.manhattandeclaration.org.

Gary Palmer is president of the Alabama Policy Institute, a non-partisan, non-profit research and education organization dedicated to the preservation of free markets, limited government and strong families, which are indispensable to a prosperous society.

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Posted in Church, family, news, politics, religion

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Americans Against Congress’ Deficit Increasing Health Care Reform

Posted on December 30, 2009 by | Leave a comment

In a December 22 Quinnipiac University poll, most Americans (53-36 percent) opposed the House and Senate Health Care Reform plans.

As usual, partisan politics is evident. Independent voters “mostly disapprove” 58 – 30 percent, as do Republicans 83 – 10 percent. Democrats “mostly approve” 64 – 22 percent.

Although most Americans (56-38 percent) support giving individuals the option of coverage by a government plan, they strongly oppose 72-24 percent using any public money in the health care overhaul to pay for abortions.

Americans are not happy with Pres. Obama’s performance concerning health care reform. Quinnipiac researchers found that 56-38 percent disapproved. They not only are Americans dissatisfied with Obama’s role in pushing for more universal health care, but a strong majority do not believe he will be able to keep his promise to overhaul it without increasing the federal deficit.

Slightly more Americans 56-36 percent do not want health care reform if it will increase the national debt.

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Strickland Shouldn’t Count on Federal Bailout

Posted on December 29, 2009 by | Leave a comment

By Marc Kilmer

Governor Strickland and the General Assembly last week agreed on a tax hike to close this fiscal year’s budget deficit. When they return in January, though, they will have to deal with a projected deficit of roughly $5 billion for next fiscal year. The governor is hoping the federal government will send some money Ohio’s way to make this deficit disappear. While a federal bailout is unlikely, even if it happens Ohio’s budget problems won’t go away.

The seemingly endless debate in the General Assembly this year over closing the deficit clearly illustrates that Ohio has budget problems. The spending obligations made by politicians can’t be funded with the money being paid by state taxpayers. Politicians of both parties were unwilling to cut state spending to close the gap. Instead, they supported a federal “stimulus” bill that papered over part of the difference and then raised taxes.

Since the next fiscal year will also have a deficit, we can count on similar tactics in the 2010 legislative session. Trimming a little spending, “delaying” tax cuts, or hoping for a federal bailout won’t address the fundamental problem: Ohio’s politicians simply spend too much.

From 1998 to 2008, Ohio’s budget grew by 41%. New government programs were created, existing government programs were expanded, and various interest groups were given tax dollars for their desired projects. Republicans as well as Democrats were happy handing out tax dollars at ever-increasing rates and there was little fiscal discipline in Columbus.

When tax revenue was flowing in, it was easy to sustain the growth of Big Government. When tax revenue declines, though, those who now count on the new government spending fiercely resist seeing it stop or even decrease. Legislators and the governor are faced with an uncomfortable situation.

That seems to be why Governor Strickland has expressed his hope for another round of federal money to alleviate the state budget woes. Most other states are in a similar budget predicament, and they, too, would like to see the feds help them cover up their fiscal mismanagement. With estimates that state budget deficits could total $180 billion in the next fiscal year, a hefty federal bailout would be necessary at a time when even the big spenders in DC are blanching at adding to the record-high federal deficit.

Of course, whether the money comes from Columbus or Washington, DC, it comes from our pocketbook. Government can’t spend what it doesn’t first tax or borrow. Ultimately taxpayers will be paying for any federal bailout funds that come to Ohio. The only difference is whether it is funneled through the U.S. Treasury or the Ohio Department of Taxation.

Instead of hoping for an unlikely federal bailout, Ohio policymakers should learn from this year’s budget debacle and get serious about enacting reforms that will provide a more permanent solution to the state’s problems. Eliminating useless government programs, cutting the bloated state workforce and trimming its wages and benefits, and finding more efficient ways to provide necessary services is a good start. It’s also necessary to enact tax and regulatory reforms that will make Ohio an attractive place for businesses, which will increase tax revenue without the need to hike tax rates.

A federal bailout may make politicians’ jobs easier, but it’s not what Ohio really needs.

Marc Kilmer is a policy analyst with the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions, a research and educational institute located in Columbus, Ohio.

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Posted in economy, news, Ohio, politics, taxes

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Abortion Healthcare Bill is Unacceptable and Unconstitutional

Posted on December 22, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Liberty Counsel opposes the current Senate healthcare bill because it still funds abortion. If the bill becomes law, Liberty Counsel is prepared to challenge the constitutionality of the bill since Congress has no authority to require every person to obtain insurance coverage and has no authority to fine employers who do not provide coverage up to the standards required in the bill.

On Saturday, Senate President Harry Reid (D-NV) filed a 383-page so-called “Manager’s Amendment” to his 2,074-page pending bill (H.R. 3590). Amendment 3276 requires that the federal government violate the principles of the Hyde Amendment by funding abortion. The funding goes through a complicated bookkeeping scheme similar to the Camps-Waxman accounting scheme which the House rejected when it adopted the Stupak-Pitts amendment on November 7.

Unfortunately, it appears that Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) succumbed to the Chicago-style politics of “pay-to-play” when he compromised his opposition to abortion funding after negotiating a deal for his home state of Nebraska to receive full federal funding to expand Medicaid insurance for the poor. The other 49 states have to split the costs of Medicaid with the federal government. The Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement on Saturday opposing the bill because of its coverage for abortion and because it does not permit those who oppose abortion to opt-out from the federally subsidized plan.

On Sunday the Congressional Budget Office Director admitted that the prior cost figures on the bill were inaccurate, stating to Sen. Reid: “The imprecision of these calculations reflects the even greater degree of uncertainty that attends to them.”

Mathew Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, released this statement on the Senate bill: “It is unconscionable that Senator Harry Reid would push forward a bill in the middle of the night that no one has had the time to read and that he would force the Senate to work up to the evening hours on Christmas Eve. While the world celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, Senator Reid is holding every Senator hostage in order to pressure them into submission so that he can force every American to fund abortion. The spirit of the Roman Emperor Herod who killed every baby boy two years old and under in order to preserve his political dynasty still lives in the halls of Congress. This shameful farce is not about healthcare. It is about politics. It is not about the well-being of the American people. It is about scoring a political victory. In the end, this power-play will be the undoing of every person who votes for the abortion bill.” Staver concluded: “This bill is unconstitutional because Congress lacks the authority to require every person to carry insurance coverage and is without authority to fine employers whose policies do not provide the coverage mandated by the legislation.”

Source: Christian News Wire, December 21, 2009.

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Mandating Higher Insurance Costs

Posted on December 21, 2009 by | 1 comment

By Marc Kilmer

At a time when the U.S. Senate is debating legislation that will supposedly bring down health insurance costs for Americans, the state House of Representatives just passed legislation that would hike these costs. While this legislation was passed with the best of intentions, it’s effect will be to hurt small businesses and lead to more uninsured in the state.

The legislation at question is two bills that mandate insurance companies cover treatment for autism (up to $36,000 a year) and treatment for diabetes. Some Ohioans will certainly benefit from these mandates and will find their costs for these treatments decline. The benefits from the legislation aren’t the whole story, though. The wider harm caused to everyone else that has health insurance was disregarded by legislators who promoted these measures.

Treatments for autistic children can be very expensive. Parents of these children understandably want someone else to help share their burden. Likewise, coverage for diabetics can cost a lot of money. But this legislation doesn’t really force insurance companies to pay for these treatments. Instead, legislators have forced everyone who has insurance to pay for them. Insurance companies don’t just print money to pay for services. They get money from the insurance premiums you pay. If they need more money, they raise the price of premiums.

While not the intended effect, if these bills become law it will lead to higher prices for health insurance in Ohio. Not all health insurance will be affected, though. Big companies that provide their own insurance aren’t covered by state law. Small businesses and individuals who purchase their own insurance are the ones who will be paying for this legislation.

Ohio has seen many small businesses close their doors or lay off workers in the past couple years. Business owners are cutting cut costs to stay in business. Even a modest price increase for health insurance will likely mean that some will drop such coverage completely. The result will be more people without insurance in the state. For those companies that do decide to keep insurance, it will mean either less profit for employers or lower wages for employees, both of which are especially unwelcome during a recession.

Ohio already mandates that insurance companies must cover a number of procedures, artificially raising the cost of insurance. For instance, even if you believe that chiropractors offer few legitimate medical treatments, your insurance must cover their services. Or even if you’ve never touched a drug in your life, state legislators mandate that your insurance cover drug addiction treatment. But compared to other states, Ohio does pretty well. Legislators have been steadily adding to these mandates over the years, though, and the governor wants even more regulation of health insurance. At the same time, these same politicians decry the rising cost of health insurance, even though they are directly responsible for part of this price increase.

All this is not to say that insurance should not cover treatment for autism or diabetes. Health insurance consumers should have the freedom to buy such insurance if they wish. But if you want to pay lower prices for a policy without such coverage, you should be free to do so, too. Not every one wants, or can afford, a policy that covers every disease or treatment. Ohioans should have the freedom to shop for insurance policies that meet their budgets and their medical needs. The Ohio House of Representatives wants to take that freedom from you, though. If this were the automobile market, it would be like legislators saying that if you don’t buy a Cadillac, you can’t own a car at all. For some people, a Kia works just fine.

The best way to help health insurance consumers is to remove government mandates and allow health insurance companies to tailor policies to meet individual consumers’ needs. Imposing politically-driven restrictions on insurance drives up the cost for all and helps only a very few. That’s not the kind of health insurance reform Ohioans need.

Marc Kilmer is a policy analyst with the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions, a research and educational institute located in Columbus, Ohio.

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Posted in economy, family, health, news, Ohio, politics, research, taxes

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The Fluoride Racket

Posted on December 17, 2009 by | Leave a comment

It amazes me the audacity many elected officials have when it comes to deciding public health issues. The “one size fits all” policy seems rampant these days. I’m not sure if they are aware of the potential short and long term effects due to dumping a poison in the water supply, or if they are just ignorant. Let me explain just some of the reasons why you should not allow fluoride-a poison in the city water. Fluoride or hydrofluorosilicic acid, is an industrial “waste” product from the fertilizer industry. This bright idea came to be about the same time as did the bright ideas of asbestos lined pipes, lead in our gasoline and DDT, and was assumed safe and effective by public officials. I’m too young to remember, but some of you may remember seeing the “fogger” vehicles spraying neighborhoods and schools with what turned out to be a very, very bad idea. Today though, fluoride is the devil in disguise that is being propagandized as to the supposed health benefits of preventing tooth decay. Like any good propaganda, millions are spent on advertising to convince the trusting public to believe everything our leaders tell us. Sadly, many including the ADA and many of our dentist go along with this deception.

Fluoridation is unsafe because in accumulates in our bones and makes them brittle and more prone to fractures especially in the elderly. It accumulates in our pineal gland in our brain and possibly lowers the production of melatonin a very important regulatory hormone. It damages the enamel on our teeth especially in younger children. There are serious yet unproven concerns about the connection of osterosarcoma (cancerous-malignant bone tumors) in young men along with the possible connections to arthritis and hypothyroidism. Animal studies showed that 1ppm in drinking water showed an increase in aluminum in the brain. Places where there are 3ppm in public drinking water have proven lower fertility rates. In human studies, the agents in fluoride has been linked to increased lead in children’s blood and associated with increased violent behavior. Lastly, the safety and therapeutic benefit of reducing dental decay is so low that the concerns stated above and those not stated should be enough reasons to not be forced upon those of us who do not want to be “medicated” from our drinking water. I highly encourage everyone concerned to Google “weston price fluoride fraud” and determine yourself. As for me, I even avoid toothpaste with fluoride-but then again shouldn’t that be “my” decision.

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Evidence of Counseling Abuse at Planned Parenthood Continues to Surface in Undercover Student Video

Posted on December 16, 2009 by | Leave a comment

New undercover footage from an Appleton, WI Planned Parenthood abortion clinic shows clinic staff, including the abortion doctor, lying to two young women about fetal development and encouraging the one who is pregnant to obtain an abortion because “women die having babies.”

In the undercover video, when the two women ask a Planned Parenthood counselor if the pregnant woman’s 10-week-old unborn child has a heartbeat, the counselor emphasizes “heart tones,” and answers, “Heart beat is when the fetus is active in the uterus–can survive–which is about seventeen or eighteen weeks.” On the contrary, embryologists agree that the heartbeat begins around 3 weeks. Wisconsin informed consent law requires that women receive medically accurate information before undergoing an abortion.

The counselor then says, “A fetus is what’s in the uterus right now. That is not a baby.” Dr. Prohaska, the abortion doctor, insists, “It’s not a baby at this stage or anything like that.” Prohaska also states that having an abortion will be “much safer than having a baby,” warning, “You know, women die having babies.”

The video comes one month after the widely reported resignation of Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson. Johnson left her leadership position at Planned Parenthood in Bryan, TX after watching a 13-week old fetus being aborted in her clinic on ultrasound. She said during a recent interview, “Planned Parenthood really tries to instill in their employees and the women that are coming in for abortions that this is not a baby.” In another interview, she noted, “They don’t want to talk about when your baby has a heartbeat,” because “they don’t want to give the woman information that could give her a connection with her baby.”

The investigation is organized by Live Action, a nonprofit student group. Lila Rose, the 21-year-old UCLA student and Live Action president, says medical lies and manipulative counseling are routine at Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion chain.

“They will do or say anything in order to sell more abortions to more women, whether it is covering up sexual abuse or lying to women about medical facts,” says Rose. “Our team has visited dozens of Planned Parenthood clinics undercover. Planned Parenthood, while claiming to support patient self-determination, operates with an ‘abortion-first mentality.’”

The video is the first in Live Action’s “Rosa Acuna Project,” a multi-state undercover audit documenting Planned Parenthood’s abortion counseling. Planned Parenthood has come under fire recently after Live Action’s investigations found them willing to conceal sexual abuse and accept donations targeted to abort African-Americans only. Videos of abuse cover-up prompted state investigations of Planned Parenthood and diversion of the abortion giant’s public subsidies.

“Planned Parenthood is a billion-dollar organization with nearly $350 million of government funding, and stands to gain hundreds of millions more from national health care,” says Rose. “Do we really want to subsidize an organization that gives women in need atrocious misinformation and predatory abortion practices?”

To see the new video, go to: liveaction.org/rosaacuna. To learn more about Live Action, visit: liveaction.org.

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Austria announces WPAFB commission…

Posted on December 14, 2009 by | Leave a comment

By Andy Myers

I sure hope this time around, the people of Greene County don’t fall again for Steve Austria’s “re-election” photo op he’s so well known for. The pictures of Steve meeting with various community leaders, students and business leaders are nothing but visual campaign ads he’s hoping might get him re-elected to a second term to the District of Criminals.

Mr. Austria is nothing more than a career tax-feeder, uh, I mean politician. He’s been groomed early on and is the “chosen one” with the local Republican Party. You get to be the “chosen one” because you sell out the Constitution and the oath you swore to uphold, and instead insure nothing drastically changes that would upset the “balance of power” here at home. Mr. Austria is also “bought and paid for” by the same old major players and special interests in our district who cough up hundreds of thousands of dollars to his election campaign to insure our confiscated tax-dollars flow back “to them” so that they can graciously put us poor saps back to work on our dime, all thanks to them. It’s nothing more than “welfare” and a redistribution of your hard earned money to “pay to play” players in his district.

Mr. Austria fits right in with the socialist philosophy in Washington. He voted FOR HR 1388, Obama Camps or better known as Generation Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act. Somewhere in the Constitution he saw where he along with the other confiscators could vote FOR the Garrett amendment to HR 3269 authorizing another $2 Billion for the Cash for Clunkers. He voted FOR HR 2647 or the Hate Crimes Creation Act. And the list goes on. But hopefully this should be sufficient to get the good people of Congressional District 7 to hand Mr. Austria his pink slip in 2010.

We don’t need another politician who embraces the political ideologies of socialism. We need a leader who will stand up against those who have taken America to the brink of destruction. We need a statesman who understands and takes seriously the oath they swear by. We need someone who understands the limits of federal law according to article 1 section 8, someone who will represent the people instead of going along with the party and the beltway mafia. We need another Dr. NO in congress.

Andy Myers is Region Coordinator of the Ohio Freedom Alliance

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