So today is the day. I’m making the transition from obsessed hobbyist political blogger to having a job as online organizer/webmaster/blogger/strategist for a new progressive political non-profit called Progress Ohio. To say I’m excited would be an understatement. To say I’m humbled would be an even bigger one.
There is alot I want to say as I leave Plunderbund behind and take on this new role, but the biggest thing that needs to be said is THANK YOU! Thank all of you. It would be incredibly hard to name everyone I want to thank. Suffice to say pretty much everyone I’ve come into contact with during my time blogging has meant alot to me – even the detractors. I feel I’ve made more friends than enemies and I like that. There are those who stand out to me among the rest. I trust you know who you are.
So I’ll be leaving this blog for the forseeable future. Plans are underway to get some folks to take over and keep it alive. I can’t bear the thought of losing all the Plunderisms. Stay tuned for more on that in the next week or two.
I’ll see you on the flipside over at Progress Ohio. I hope you’ll support what we’re doing and stay in touch!
Heraclitus said it, we live it. Hell, even Jack Johnson sang about it once:
Who’s to say what’s impossible?
Well they forgot this world keeps spinning.
And with each new day,
I can feel a change in everything.
And as the surface breaks, reflections fade.
But in some ways they remain the same.
And as my mind begins to spread it’s wings
There’s no stopping curiosity.
Alot going on for me starting on or about vacation time. Some changes coming, hopefully for the better. You might see some new voices here – I’m hoping anyway. Stay tuned…
So we’re blessing schools now? Christ! This drives me nuts:
(Dispatch) About 180 members of four local churches surrounded a public middle school yesterday to bless the building and those who use it, despite objections from the American Civil Liberties Union about the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state.
What is it going to take to get people to understand the separation of church and state? I’m not an Establishment Clause expert, but it would appear that the school’s support of a “blessing” in such a public manner might just be construed as establishing that religion for the kiddos.
It is interesting to note that the principal initially wanted to allow this inside the school, though she “forgets” that conversation.
Maybe the good Christian folk would have no problem with a public zazen and meditation period for the kids out front to enhance the state of being of the children, or maybe a group of Muslims facing Mecca and praying “for the kids” would be OK. Maybe not. You think?
The most telling part of the article was this:
Several participants said yesterday they did not think the ceremony, which lasted less than a half-hour, violated the separation of church and state, and some said they didn’t think church and state should be separated anyway.
They don’t think it does, but they don’t care if it did. Precisely the problem.
Please also note in the photo above I thought at first it said “Karl Rove Christian Church”. Do I need more sleep or is it all blurring together somehow?
PS – This happens at my kid’s school and their hell will break loose. Guaranteed.
Internet freedom is under attack. The House of Representatives has voted to give giant corporations more control over what you see and do online, and corporate lobbyists are pushing for a quick vote in the Senate. Senator Mike DeWine could be the deciding vote, but he has remained silent on Net Neutrality. We can change that next Wednesday at noon.
In Columbus, we will deliver thousands of petition signatures from Ohio residents to Senator DeWine’s office. The media will be invited, and we need a big crowd to show Senator DeWine how important protecting Net Neutrality is to constituents.
Can you help deliver the petitions next Wednesday—asking Senator DeWine to protect Net Neutrality? Please RSVP below.
What: Internet freedom petition delivery to the senator’s office Where: Senator Dewine’s Columbus Office, 37 West Broad St., Columbus, OH When: Thursday, 31 Aug 2006, 12:00 PM (Recently changed from Wednesday!)
Some senators think the public doesn’t care about this issue. They think we don’t know companies like AT&T and Verizon are spending millions lobbying Congress to eliminate Net Neutrality and give them more over control of the Internet. But petition deliveries in 50 locations across the nation next week will prove them wrong.
We will deliver thousands of petition signatures to Senator DeWine along with the diverse SaveTheInternet.com Coalition—which includes local small businesses, consumer groups, Craig from Craigslist, MoveOn, the Christian Coalition, Gun Owners of America, Free Press, musicians REM and Moby, and over 750 other organizations.
Just last week, a similar petition delivery event in New Mexico was covered by local TV, newspapers, and radio. That senator’s staff was surprised at the large crowds outside their office, and even invited local residents inside to discuss why Net Neutrality was important to them. The senator definitely got the message that his constituents care—and that message will help us in upcoming senate votes. [/inbox]
Eric says: The issue of net neutrality should be something we all care about and we need to make sure there are voices that speak to this. DeWine so far has not come out with a position, but we need to make sure he doesn’t give the truck a flat tire – or clog up the tubes (man, I’ve been dying for a reason to link to that!).
Washington – The pharmaceutical industry quietly footed the bill for at least part of a recent multimillion-dollar ad campaign praising lawmakers, including Sen. Mike DeWine of Ohio, who support the new Medicare prescription drug benefit, according to political officials.
You don’t say!
Aides to Rep. Sherrod Brown, the Avon Democrat challenging DeWine for re-election, said it’s logical that PhRMA would help DeWine and other lawmakers.
“Mike DeWine has received more than $300,000 from prescription drug companies in campaign contributions” over his congressional career, “and voted their interests in Congress,” said Joanna Kuebler, Brown’s communications director. “That PhRMA would reward him by paying for a campaign ad is no surprise.”
I haven’t been commennting much on the Third. I’m still in a bit of shock over what has transpired (part of the vacation hole). Appears to be a two horse race for the nomination at this point. Thanks to blog regionalism and BSB, we have killer coverage. Len at Blogesque has posted an exclusive interview with Charles Sanders. Chema has one coming according to the site. I don’t hold out much hope for this district, but we gotta fight on all fronts.
Well, since Mikey got his ass handed to him with the last attack ad, he has decided to take the weiner route and sit on a porch and tout “bipartisanship”. Has anyone that’s been paying attention noticed any “bipartisanship” lately? I keep remembering vote after vote getting crammed down our throats – the ones that matter at least – complete with middle of the night armtwisting. Bipartisanship’s ass!
Mikey is a Bush puppet, taking embattled Bush fundraising money and voting time after time for the agenda of this administration that has set us on a dangerous course to global conflict and reduced U.S. influence worldwide.
Hell, listen to the master himself Karl Rove talk about “Stalwart Mike”:
“We want to do everything we can to get this good man back in here … He is a loyal stalwart … He’s voted for our judges. He’s supported our budgets. He’s supported our tax cuts. He’s supported our education reforms. He supported the Patriot Act. He supported legal reform. This guy has been a loyal and strong supporter of the president.” [Gannett News, 10/1/05]
Here’s the new ad:
I’m just so glad we’re all working together to solve all our problems. Aren’t you? Awww…
Brown camp AdWatch pdf (lots of reasons to call bullshit on this lilly livered piece of crap porch routine)
A little-known candidate in New Hampshire’s Second District congressional race says the American government had a role in the September 11th terrorist attacks and criticized the media for not reporting on it.
Republican Mary Maxwell of Concord told The Telegraph said the government was complicit in the attack so it could make Americans hate Arabs and allow the military to bomb Muslim nations such as Iraq. She also says the attacks were meant to make Americans more willing to accept laws that restrict civil liberties.
So we ended up in a PR cage match on healthcare today, pitting Krazy Kenny Blackwell versus Ted “Turnaround” Strickland. Kenny got a Teducation by doing the look over the shoulder routine. Too bad us big bad bloggers were watching. The old flip flop flipper got busted, to be sure.
What was the answer from the Krazy Kenny Klan? Basically copy Ted BUT (big but) add in a personal mandate. No, I’m sorry, it’s not a mandate (though it would be required) – it’s just a requirement for “personal responsibility”. Implied here is that the 10% of Ohioans uninsured at the moment is due to personal irresponsibility. Right. Krazy Kenny’s plan is basically saying: “Hey, ya’ll get you some insurance…OK? Damn!”
There are almost zero details on how the plan would work. You can read it all (all 9 pages of it) here in pdf.
So this is Krazy Kenny’s answer to the uninsured in Ohio: “Hey,man. I got mine. Now get yours. It’s the law”. I wonder if he’ll couple it with a cute little slogan like “Click it or Ticket”? A $7 billion mandate. Lovely.
The more ominous question is this: In a free market, what incentive would businesses have to keep their plans active if individuals were required to have insurance? I’d like to know details on this. I know the touted Romney plan did not want to include mandatory per person fees for employers of 11 or more, but they apparently have that provision.
The real problem with healthcare in America is cost. We spend damn near double what the rest of the OECD does on average (Weiner).
Republicans are trying to find market fixes for the privilege to have quality healthcare. Progressives view quality healthcare as a fundamental right. Therein lies the difference.
I gotta say, I just LOVE this. This is the kind of creativity I love to see in campaigns:
Before Chabot’s late-afternoon event, Cranley will be in Price Hill, trying to make a point about Chabot and his support for the Bush administration’s energy plan, which Cheney helped draft.
From 11 to 11:30 this morning, Cranley will be at Bob’s Marathon station at West Eighth Street and Trenton Avenue, where, for that half-hour, gasoline will be sold at $1.26 per gallon, the price of gas in August 2001, when Chabot voted for the energy bill.
The regular price now is $2.69 and Cranley said he would reimburse Bob’s out of his campaign fund for the cost difference during that half hour.
“While I’m doing that, Steve Chabot will be busy filling up his coffers with the help of Cheney, who pushed through huge subsidies for the oil companies,” Cranley said.
Paul Hackett, an attorney from Cincinnati, thinks his background as a civil affairs specialist makes him a prime candidate for an involuntary recall, as there is a shortage of Marines like him. Two weeks ago, he received a packet from the Navy requesting updated information for a security clearance — a sign, he believes, that a recall order could be coming.
I believe there is probably plenty of pressure from wingnuts wanting to silence their worst media nightmare related to Iraq. I can assure you that Van Taylor is lobbying hard for it. Praying even.
The fact that Paul would go no hesitation makes the point that Andrew Warner missed last week: military life is about service and you don’t individually pick and choose your own battles.
Never let it be said that Republicans are anti-environment. It appears they really love PLANTS! OK, so maybe they are anti-environment. Turns out the kind of plants they like are the ones they mix in as “citizens” or “activists”, when their true identity is much more like “shill”, apologist”, or “donor”.
The biggest national story was that of Rockey Vaccarella, a Katrina victim who had a Sheehan-like trek to Washington to get a meeting with the President. Difference being ‘ole Rockey was a Bush ass-kisser and (shock of shocks) GOT A MEETING with der Bushmeister. Funny thing is Rockey is a Republican who ran for office. I wonder what his reward will be. What a joke. Good thing we got Media Matters. Mmmm, blog food. Yum!
There are some homegrown “plants” as well. First is Blackwell’s “registered nurse from Huber Heights”, who turns out to be a wingnut campaign manager. Next is Nathan Esruth, who “showed up at a park Saturday morning to hear the blue people“. Turns out Mr Estruth has given thousands of dollars to Ken Blackwell and Republicans according to SoS campaign finanace filings. (hat tip BSB)
Add a new nickname for our favorite corrupt Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate (the “guber” part is spot on): Copycat. We’ve already established the flip flop flipper part relatively well. Now it seems Krazy Kenny Blackwell is so nervous about getting his proverbial ass kicked in November that he is resorting to stealing Dem ideas – you know, those guys that don’t have any? The Dems?
Well, it seems the Republican well of ideas is so dry they now have to take Democrat ideas and make them their own. Problem is, the Strickland camp beat them by about a week. So now – look for this today – the Blackwell camp is going to try to bolster language they stole from Dems to try and “out healthcare” us. LOL. It really is sad.
Utilizing a Medicaid waiver that offers matching federal funds, the state will subsidize the insurance premiums of Ohioans who are not eligible for Medicaid and make up to 150% of the federal poverty level. This voluntary program will not take any additional Ohio tax dollars to fund and builds on best practices being used in several other states.
In the area of health care, Blackwell said Ohio should be using its “political muscle” in Washington to lobby for waivers to enable the state to tailor Medicaid to its individual needs, as Massachusetts, Wisconsin and other states have done.
Now, here’s the best part. The Blackwell camp is accusing Strickland of stealing their plan:
Though he is expected to roll out the details of his health-care plan today in Cleveland, Blackwell gave an indication Wednesday of what it will be at a leadership meeting of the Ohio Farm Bureau.
His opponent, Democrat Ted Strickland, also addressed the Farm Bureau gathering, but stuck closer to farm issues. Strickland announced his health-care plan last week. A spokesman for Blackwell accused Strickland of stealing some of Blackwell’s ideas.
Uh, pardon mon francaise, but how the FUCK do you steal ideas from a plan whose details have not even been announced yet? Maybe I spoke too soon on my “Damn, son”(tm) Award. This might just get it. Damn, son! Watch Cleveland close today and see who really is the idea thief. I guess when you are 25 points down you get really, REALLY desperate!
So we’re blessing schools now? Christ! This drives me nuts:
Taking A Ride On The Progress Train (A Farewell To PB)
by Eric on August 31, 2006 · Comments
So today is the day. I’m making the transition from obsessed hobbyist political blogger to having a job as online organizer/webmaster/blogger/strategist for a new progressive political non-profit called Progress Ohio. To say I’m excited would be an understatement. To say I’m humbled would be an even bigger one.
There is alot I want to say as I leave Plunderbund behind and take on this new role, but the biggest thing that needs to be said is THANK YOU! Thank all of you. It would be incredibly hard to name everyone I want to thank. Suffice to say pretty much everyone I’ve come into contact with during my time blogging has meant alot to me – even the detractors. I feel I’ve made more friends than enemies and I like that. There are those who stand out to me among the rest. I trust you know who you are.
So I’ll be leaving this blog for the forseeable future. Plans are underway to get some folks to take over and keep it alive. I can’t bear the thought of losing all the Plunderisms. Stay tuned for more on that in the next week or two.
I’ll see you on the flipside over at Progress Ohio. I hope you’ll support what we’re doing and stay in touch!
All the best,
Eric
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