Category Archives: politics

Ohio Governor Strickland Signs Umbilical Cord Blood Bill

On March 31, 2010, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland signed H.B. 102. The new law, which was sponsored by Rep. Todd Book (D, McDermott), requires the Ohio Department of Health to place printable information on umbilical cord blood banking and donation on its website. The Department of Health also will encourage health care professionals to provide the information to pregnant women.

H.B. 102 passed the Ohio Senate by a vote of 32-0 on March 24, 2010. The Ohio House then voted 97-0 to concur in the Senate amendments to the bill. Umbilical cord blood is an ethical and non-controversial source of stem cells that can be obtained with no risk to the mother or child. Stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood have been used to successfully treat over 70 diseases including sickle cell anemia, leukemia, and lymphoma. Unfortunately, most umbilical cord blood is currently being discarded after birth.

Banking cord blood for personal or family use with a private bank can involve significant expense. However, donations to public cord blood banks involve no expense for the donor.

“We are delighted that Ohio has adopted this important life-saving legislation,” said Mike Gonidakis, Executive Director of Ohio Right to Life. “By Improving public awareness about cord blood donation, this law should increase the number and diversity of cord blood donations and thus increase the number of patients who can obtain the match they need,” Gonidakis said.

The new law takes effect in 90 days.

Source:Ohio Right to Life, 4/1/10

Maryellen O’Shaugnnessy Hosted At Greene County Democratic Party HQ

The Greene County Democratic Party (GCDP) candidates hosted Maryellen O’Shaugnnessy at the GCDP Headquarters at 87 E. Main Street in Xenia on Tuesday 4/6/10. O’Shughnessy is unopposed Democratic candidate for Ohio Secretary of State in the May 4th primary election.

Pictured left to right with O’Shaughnessy are party Executive Committee members Mike Watters, GCDP Chair Don Hollister, Doris Totty, Jean Nixon, Mike Gardner, O’Shaughnessy, Jan Goodwin, Don Brezine, and GCDP Vice Chair Bill Conner. Watters is a candidate for the Ohio Legislature, Hollister for Ohio Democratic Central Committee, and Conner for U.S. Congress.

Tax Freedom Day 2010 Is April 9

Ohio Tax Freedom Day—the day on which Americans have earned enough money to pay all federal, state, and local taxes for the year—was celebrated yesterday. Today, the official Tax Freedom Day falls on the 99th day of 2010.

Americans will work well over three months of the year before they have earned enough money to pay the nation’s tax bill for the year, and they will pay more taxes in 2010 than they will spend on food, clothing and shelter combined.

This year’s Tax Freedom Day is one day later than in 2009, but more than two weeks earlier than in 2007. The shift toward a lower tax burden since 2007 has been driven by three factors:

(1) The recession has reduced tax collections even faster than it has reduced income.
(2) President Obama and the Congress have enacted large but temporary income tax cuts for 2009 and 2010, just as President Bush did in 2008.
(3) Two significant taxes were repealed for 2010 as part of previous legislation, the estate tax and the so-called PEP and Pease provisions of the income tax.

The shift toward an earlier Tax Freedom Day since 2007 is not necessarily cause for celebration. That’s because Tax Freedom Day does not count the deficit even though deficits must eventually be financed. Since 1948, when Tax Freedom Day was first calculated, the difference between what governments are spending and what they’re collecting has never been as great as during 2009 and 2010. If Americans were required to pay for all government spending this year, including the $1.3 trillion federal budget deficit, they would be working until May 17 before they had earned enough to pay their taxes—an additional 38 days of work.

This May 17 date for a deficit-inclusive measure is the second latest since World War II. Only in 2009 was it later, when an unprecedented budget deficit of close to $1.5 trillion produced a deficit-inclusive date of May 21, fully 43 days later than Tax Freedom Day.

Source: The Tax Foundation, March 30, 2010.

Eugenics in 2010: Obamacare Cost-Cutting Genetic Discrimination

In the March 31st edition of LifeNews, Kristan Hawkins, executive director of Students for Life, wrote how Obamacare further the eugenics the Left introduced in the United States through abortion.

Hawkins interest in the current health care reform stems from her infant son’s battle with Cystic fibrosis, an expensive-to-treat and fatal genetic disease. Obamacare threatens to ration top notch healthcare for children like her son.

The question is does she have any support for her concern?

The following quote is from her LifeNews article:

A week before the doomed healthcare vote, Representative Bart Stupak (D-MI) admitted to the National Review Online that Congressional Democrats argued that passing his pro-life amendment which prohibits taxpayer funding of abortion will result in more children and therefore higher healthcare costs. They’re saying: “If you pass the Stupak amendment, more children will be born, and therefore it will cost us millions more.”

This argument isn’t new but in fact is the same old 1970’s argument that John Holdren (the President’s Science Czar) used when saying that the more people there are, the less food there will be. This 1970’s argument has been regurgitated in 2010 with a healthcare slant: the more people, the less healthcare available for you and me.

Democrats in Congress know that incentivizing abortions by making them cheaper and more accessible will lead to higher abortion rates costing less healthcare dollars and making those limited funds available for some other person.

When the state is involved in the cost of healthcare, it knows that it is dealing with scare resources and that rationing will have to occur. This fact has already been reiterated multiple times by President Obama’s Comparative Effectiveness Research Council appointee and brother to his Chief-of-Staff, Dr. Zeke Emanuel.

Emanuel admitted in The Lancet medical journal last January that cost-cutting measures in healthcare reform are merely “lipstick” and rationing will have to occur in any government healthcare system.

He even went so far as to describe his ideal rationing plan where those at the beginning and end of life would receive 2nd tier healthcare when scarcity develops. In the article, he further talks about his sense of “communitarianism” and how those who are unproductive members of society are a burden and healthcare dollars could be best spent elsewhere. Bottom line Message: We only want the “genetically” superior people and less is better.

To Dr. Emanuel, my son Gunner is an excess burden on society.

Yet, he has been appointed by President Obama to serve on the President’s Comparative Effectiveness Research Council, the body that will make “recommendations” to doctors as to how to treat their patients in the most cost-effective way.

Today, new advances being made with prenatal genetic testing aren’t for the benefit of the family, but for the destruction of the pre-born child within the mother. The ability to diagnose diseases such as Cystic Fibrosis, Down Syndrome, and others while the child is still in the womb means a greater chance a woman will be encouraged and pressured to abort, thus limiting that child’s “burden” on society.

It is shocking what you find if you Google search the phrase “cost benefit analysis of prenatal testing” and read the medical journal articles (especially those coming out of Europe on this issue).

Now that Obamacare has passed, will prenatal genetic tests eventually move from being voluntary to mandatory, in the name of cost-savings? Down the road, will abortions be encouraged by the state or even forced on those children who will have special needs or will need life-long medical care?

Further, what will happen to children to who are born with costly diseases? Will they receive the best medical care or just enough to “make them comfortable?” Today, in America, this rationing is already happening to many babies born with Trisomy 18 and 13, as parents have gone on the record proving medical doctors told them they had to think about “resources” when making the decision as to how to treat their children. Thankfully, the cases today aren’t uniform but the misjudgment of one or two doctors. What will happen if people like Dr. Emanuel are writing the guidelines of care for all doctors?

Let me offer some additional observations.

Obamacare as depicted above is a cost-benefit application of Darwin’s survival of the fittest, but one imposed by the socialist state. This is not much different than Hilter’s Darwinian-based eugenic program to create a superior Aryan race. The difference is not in principle but rather one of goal. Unlike Hitler, the goal of the socialist Left may not be creating the perfect race. Their goal may be more practical: Forcing on America one world socialism–their version of perfect economics and governance.

Now, that the courts and Left have declared abortion is a Constitutional right with many true believers, the Left funded by those like billionaire Soros and led by Pelosi, Reed, and Obama are seeking to further the original agenda of creating the Great Society by bankrupting the nation while promising to decrease the budget at the great expense of more innocent lives. (Remember, the reason for the Great Recession was over-indebtedness.)

The loud proponents of anti-discrimination it turns out are the most hideous of discriminators. They obstruct the right to life because they are fully prejudiced against any who they deem unworthy of it. Just as the CIA has been used to destroy uncooperative regimes, the Left uses courts and deceit to convince the masses that killing the unwanted is a right to the good life. Irresponsibility, immorality and killing is part of the Left’s definition of freedom. Freedom has thus been perverted for the benefit of killing those who may cost the socialist state too much money.

Yet, no one seems to question whether the genetic diseases of those like Hawkin’s son, Gunner, who will be discriminated against are preventable. That is, are they merely the result of genetic accidents or are they induced by a polluted environment, contaminated food, stress resulting from an unjust political economy, or other factors?
If the later, one solution maybe be in public policy that is based on a holistic view of the common good for all citizens rather than imposing ideological party or special interest agendas though piecemeal problem solving policies.

Mitchel calls for Steve Austria to withdraw from congressional race

Former Air Force Lieutenant Colonel John Mitchel, who is opposing Steve Austria in the May 4th Republican primary, called for Steve Austria to withdraw from the race. Mitchel says he is merely following guidelines established by State GOP Chairman Kevin DeWine. According to Mitchel, in January 2009, Kevin DeWine put together a 10-point plan to rehabilitate the Ohio Republican Party torn apart by Coingate and other scandals. Mitchel says one of those points is to “Enforce a zero-tolerance policy for misconduct.” He lists the following examples of what he believes to be misconduct by Steve Austria and his spouse, Eileen, who for almost two decades was District Director for former Congressman Dave Hobson.

1. Nepotism: Steve Austria’s influence with campaign contributors associated with the Turner Foundation led to a job for Mrs. Austria at non-profit Nextedge Development Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Turner Foundation, another non-profit corporation based in Springfield .

2. Failure to disclose Mrs. Austria ’s employment with Nextedge: Steve Austria attempted to conceal on his federal Financial Disclosure Statement Mrs. Austria ’s employment with Nextedge. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is investigating. (FEC Matter Under Review ( MUR ) 6240)

3. Failure to disclose on his Financial Disclosure Statement Mr. and Mrs. Austria’s membership on the Dayton Development Coalition’s Wright Patt 2010 Committee from 2003 to 2007: As members of the Committee, Mr. and Mrs. Austria helped steer no-bid contracts financed by Greene County taxpayers to the PMA Group, a Washington lobbying firm raided by the FBI in November 2008 and now under investigation for illegal campaign contributions in exchange for earmarks, including contributions to Steve Austria and Dave Hobson. (Source: Center for Public Integrity, September 2009) Greene County Commissioners Anderson, Perales and Reid can confirm that the FBI has taken custody of 26 boxes of related documents from the Dayton Development Coalition with cooperation from the Greene County Prosecutor’s office.

4. Mrs. Austria’s illegal use of Dave Hobson’s Member Representational Account (MRA) in the last two months of her employment as Dave Hobson’s District Director: The Federal Election Commission is investigating allegations that while Mrs. Austria was still working as Dave Hobson’s District Director, she abused that position to raise over $221,000 for her husband’s congressional campaign from 246 donors from October 27, 2007 to December 31, 2007. (FEC Matter Under Review (MUR) 6240)

Mitchel commented, “Our campaign is in full agreement with Kevin DeWine in that the Ohio Republican Party should enforce a zero-tolerance policy for misconduct by its elected officials and candidates. Now it’s time to hold Kevin DeWine accountable and demand that whether or not Steve Austria withdraws from the May 4th primary, the Republican Party will aggressively cooperate with the ongoing investigation. To do otherwise will further undermine the credibility of Ohio Republican Party leadership and could bring the entire ticket down in November.”

Most Americans Favor Repeal of Health Care Bill

Ramussen’s latest national telephone survey shows most Americans (54%) want Congress’ health care law repealed. Just before the passage of the legislation, the same amount of people said they opposed the law.

Repeal is favored by 84% of Republicans and 59% of unaffiliated voters. Among white Democrats, 25% favor repeal, but only one percent (1%) of black Democrats share that view.

Why do they want the onerous health care law repealed? Most believe the law will increase both health care costs and the federal deficit. Fifty-five percent think it will increase the cost of care. Sixty percent said it will increase the federal budget deficit. Moreover, 49 percent believe it will decrease the quality of health care.

Source: Ramussen Reports, March 29, 2010.

Virgil Vaduva Running for Greene County Commissioner

As you may already know, I am currently campaigning as a Republican
candidate for Greene County Commissioner, here in Greene County, Ohio.

If you have been keeping track of my campaign and articles published
at http://votevirgil.org you may already know that there are serious
problems in Greene County, many which have been caused by the
Republican politicians which have had free reign of our county for
decades. This unchecked control on power has led to corruption,
scandals, high taxes and out of control building codes which are
having a negative effect on our lives. There is no excuse for it, and
this time there are no Democrats to blame.

This is why I’ve decided to run for Commissioner and hope to be able
to bring about positive changes inspired by not just my faith, but
also by the love of freedom and liberty I gained during the first 20
years of my life in Communist Romania and during the anti-Communist
revolution of 1989. I have already made substantial progress against
local high taxes with a very public lawsuit filed against the City of
Xenia, seeking several injunctions to stop the city from using public
funds to promote the passage of a tax levy, something which is against
Ohio Elections law. You can read more about it here:
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/crime/xenia-sued-for-misusing-taxpayer-money-by-commissioner-candidate-576230.html

But there is a lot more work to be done. The Greene County GOP does
not help conservatives get elected. Fortunately, while they control
party finances they cannot control you the voter, so I can only appeal
to people like you, who are willing to challenge the status quote and
help average people, without a political background get elected and
take on the system. You can help me by voting for me on May 4, 2010, by forwarding this message to all your friends and family members who vote in Greene County, and by making a small donation to my campaign or by putting one of my yard signs in your yard. All help, no matter how small will make a difference, and as few as 50 votes can make the difference.

I would be honored to receive your vote during the primary elections
on May 4; and should you consider any financial help, it would go to
positive use with my campaign, for fliers, yard signs and telephone
calls. You can also make an online donation of any size using PayPal
at the following link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=2CFJULBRFV2AE

At last, I want to encourage YOU to run for office next time around.
We can no longer sit back and let politicians plunder our income and
property, dictate how we can live our lives, raise our families, and
educate our children. So I hope I will even see you on the campaign
trail soon.

UNHRC hammers away at Israel again in series of resolutions

The UN Human Rights Council on Thursday approved a resolution calling for Israel to pay Palestinians reparations for loss and damages suffered during last year’s Operation Cast Lead. The 47-nation council did not call for similar payments by Palestinians to Israelis. The vote comes one day after the same UNHRC approved three more anti-Israel resolutions, with the US being the only member to cast dissenting votes on all three. One resolution on “grave human rights violations” by Israeli forces in the Palestinian territories passed by 31 to 9, with 7 abstentions. Another resolution called on Israel to stop building in the territories and uproot those communities now there was passed by 45 votes, with the EU supporting it and only the US opposing. The third condemned Israel for what it called violation of the rights of the people of the formerly Syrian Golan Heights. Also on Wednesday, the UNHRC website posted a report issued by a Libyan NGO which accused Israeli soldiers of harvesting the organs of Palestinians killed during operations in the Territories. The report also accused Israel of engaging in “ethnic cleansing and massacres” against the Palestinians. “The most preposterous, ridiculous and horrendous of all lies can gain respectability at the UN,” responded Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor. The Council was founded in 2006 after the UN Human Rights Commission had lost credibility for its obsessive focus on Israel. However, the new forum has continued that record, with more than two-thirds of its resolutions which have condemned human rights abuses targeting the Jewish state.

Source: IECJ News, March 25, 2010.

Public Perception of Political and Business Ethics

In the March AEI Political Report, a compilation of various polls of public opinion is presented to give a composite view of America’s perception of its current state of affairs. The Report includes perceptions about Obama, personal finance as well as economic trends, taxation, global warming, balance of power, the current international hot spots Iran, Cuba, and Afghanistan, job satisfaction, and even a parental do and don’t list.

In this post, ethics will be the focus.

The trend of public opinion about honesty in politics has has steadily declined since the 1940s. In 1948, Americans were asked whether it was almost impossible for a person to stay honest after entering into politics. Forty-eight percent (48%) agreed that it was. By 1997, 55% said it was nearly impossible to remain honest in politics. Twelve years later 55% said the ethical standards of Congressmen and Congresswomen were very low, while only 9% said they were high. Although the question was different, the perception of political corruption remained the same.

I wonder whether the 36% were too afraid to say what they believed.

The general public perception of business ethics didn’t fare any better.
Although the survey data did not provide a historical perspective like was seen above, it did reveal how low a view Americans have of business management compared to helping profession like nursing and law enforcement.

In 2002, Americans (34%) regarded CEOs more ethical than they did in 2009. In fact, the percent of Americans who regarded CEOs as ethical dropped to 22 percent. Maybe the Enron scandal was factor. Nevertheless, the figures also reveal that 66% American regard CEOs are scoundrels.

Compared to bankers, car salesmen, stockbrokers, politicians, HMO managers, and insurance sales people, CEOs are nearly saints. Of the lot, 12% of Americans said bankers were ethical. Less than 10% of American considered any of the rest as ethical.

These poll results tell us that Americans are willing to put up with both a corrupt system of governance as well as corrupt marketplace. Why?

Fee Increases Are Not A Budget Solution

by Representative Jarrod B. Martin

Ohio’s economic crisis has presented lawmakers with the unique opportunity to examine state spending, rein in costs and create a more efficient, effective government structure. However, many of Ohio’s leaders chose to maintain the tax-and-spend status quo by placing a heavier financial burden on the people of our state.

Instead of creating a sustainable state budget, Governor Strickland and House Democrats raised taxes and created more than 150 new fines, fees and penalties to support Ohio’s ever-growing government spending. Specifically, these fees will affect each and every Ohioan because they will be imposed on everything from court costs and birth certificates to real estate licenses and hospice applications.

One way the Democrats are nickel-and-diming their way to a balanced budget is through a $20 late fee for renewing your vehicle registration and driver’s license. Since October, 400,000 individuals have been forced to pay this late fee, which has fattened the budget by more than $6 million to benefit the tax and spend party that is in control.

In times of economic hardship, state government should shrink its spending to fit its means, not grab at constituents’ pocketbooks to feed its growth. For this reason, I cosponsored legislation to repeal this $20 BMV late fee on motor vehicle registrations, driver’s licenses and motorcycle endorsements. House Bill 428, introduced by Representatives Ron Amstutz and Terry Boose, has bipartisan support in the House and will help keep Ohio’s government accountable to the public.

It is my belief that the government should serve the people, not the other way around. The day we start squeezing petty dollars out of hardworking families is the day we should finally commit to cost-saving measures to rein in state spending. There is no excuse to justify robbing the taxpayers of money that could have been used to put food on the table or help pay their bills-especially when there are so many alternatives on the table.

Since the beginning of the General Assembly, House Republicans have proposed numerous bills that would streamline state spending, reduce Medicaid waste and audit state agencies. Most of all, these bills would hold Ohio’s elected officials accountable for their expenditures and ensure that each dollar spent has a dollar’s return. Together, our bills would increase government efficiency by saving the taxpayers more than $1 billion annually, which would not only put our state on track toward a balanced budget but also eliminate the temptation to raid the wallets of our constituents.

Ohio has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. It is long overdue that state leaders stop pilfering money from individuals who are just trying to make an honest living and provide for their families. As always, I will continue the fight for an accountable, efficient state government.