From the monthly archives: December 2010
Here’s what I wrote back in September shortly after Frank Russo resigned as a Bill of Information charging him with over twenty federal felony charges was publicly released:
I don’t think it’s really as much of a question whether Russo will cooperate. It’s probably already privately happened. Even if I’m wrong, it’s only a matter of time. Russo is staring down 21 counts of federal bribery charges that he’ll have pled guilty to. That kind of reality gets people to re-evaluate their loyalty to people who aren’t family. He has no public office to hold onto. It’s mitigation [...]
Full Story... →I have to admit. It never occurred to me that Strickland might seek a rematch. What would that do to Cordray’s and Brunner’s plans?
Full Story... →Yesterday, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that Governor-elect Kasich was in Cleveland and telling the local leadership there that if the Cleveland Municipal School District didn’t improve its academic performance, he’d seek legislative authority to have the State take it over.
Kasich has not drafted a specific proposal but said Wednesday that he favors putting a "special master" in control of school districts like Cleveland with chronically low graduation rates and test scores. He did not set a deadline for improvements but said he wouldn’t wait four years, the length of an Ohio governor’s term.
Of course, [...]
Full Story... →I noticed Cliff Schechter is jumping at the opportunity to use the Florida school board shooting to blast the National Rifle Association and says it shows the folly of gun rights supporters. Cliff is paid by the anti-gun group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, as a political consultant.
I know this isn’t going to win me many fans here, but Cliff Schechter is totally wrong.
Blaming the NRA for allowing Clay Duke to get a handgun to use to terrorize that Florida school board only works if something the NRA favored allowed Duke to possess a firearm. However, Duke [...]
Full Story... →The day before Thomas Charles is to be announced to run the Ohio Department of Public Safety after a campaign of going after Col. David Dicken, who Charles’ opposed his appointment in favor of someone else, the Ohio Department of Public Safety just announced that Dicken is resigning as Superintendent of the Ohio Highway Patrol and returning to the rank of Captain. (Source: NBC Channel 4 in Columbus)
Either they’re giving Thomas Charles everything he’s ever wanted with this gig, or….
… the Strickland folks figured that Charles was going to fire Dicken anyways so they might as [...]
Full Story... →Just received this e-mailed statement from Sherrod’s campaign committee (generally sent out, not in response to our previous post):
We fought back against extending the Bush tax cuts for the super-wealthy because we knew it was wrong to exacerbate our deficit crisis on behalf of millionaires and billionaires when working Ohioans were struggling.
We fought back against President Obama’s agreement to include those tax breaks in his compromise plan because we know it was wrong to hold help for the middle class and small businesses hostage to such a wasteful giveaway.
We fought hard, and I’m proud of our stand. [...]
Full Story... →From an e-mailed statement from the Ohio Democratic Party on behalf of ODP Chairman Chris Redfern:
“The news in recent days is a truly sad chapter in Ohio politics.
“First, we find out that Inspector General Tom Charles is being rewarded with a cabinet appointment in the Kasich Administration for his partisan efforts to damage Governor Strickland’s re-election. Then, State Sen. Tim Grendell admits that his dog-and-pony show confirmation hearings were pure politics and intended to help Gov.-elect John Kasich’s campaign.
“These developments are a further demonstration of what we already knew: the so-called ‘Troopergate’ investigation was a politically motivated [...]
Full Story... →Surprise! Another story about John Kasich changing a policy without thinking or even knowing about the reasons it was implemented.
This time it’s snow days (aka Calamity Days) for Ohio’s schools, which Governor Strickland lowered from 5 to 3. Kasich – on the advice of his pre-teen daughters – has proposed undoing the change.
The move to reduce the number of snow days pissed off a lot of teachers and districts, yes, even the “evil” teachers unions that Kasich hates so much. But the Strickland administration received praise nationally for this move to add more days to the school [...]
Full Story... →The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has announced that he will vote to approve the tax cut/unemployment compensation Obama/McConnell compromise. Brown had recently crowed about voting against cloture for the Senate to consider the compromise, saying he wanted to amend the compromise:
He wanted tax credits for clean energy manufacturing, and he wanted to extend enhanced health coverage tax credits for people who lost their jobs or large portions of their retiree benefits.
Sherrod’s amendments will not be considered by the Senate. He’s going to vote for it anyways.
Seriously, I don’t [...]
Full Story... →If you review the recent history of Thomas Charles’ reports as the Ohio Inspector General regarding the Ohio Highway Patrol, you see a rather telling pattern that can be divided by one event: when Governor Strickland was considering the appointment of Col. David Dicken to be the Superintendent of the Ohio Highway Patrol.
Before Dicken, a high number of Inspector General reports involving the Ohio Highway Patrol went incredibly light on the Patrol. For example, the OIG downplayed any wrongdoing by the Patrol:
when the Patrol issued no speeding tickets, reckless operation, or street racing tickets immediately after pulling over [...]
Full Story... →Budget Watch
