SearchUser loginOffice of CitizenOffice of CitizenRest in Peace,
Who's new
|
Ohio now has a real governor, Ted Strickland, who cares about citizens' rights and public healthSubmitted by Norm Roulet on Tue, 01/09/2007 - 13:43.
What a great rebirth for Ohio. Sunday night, Ohio swore in our new Governor, Ted Strickland, and within 24 hours he vetoed the corporate and lobbyist planted, corrupt, anti-consumer, anti-American substitute bill 117, which was made to order for scam businesses to harm citizens. As Strickland states, " I will not allow this legislation in its current form, which drastically undermines current consumer protections, to go into effect during my administration." A Plain Dealer article on the veto reports " Strickland also said the curb on suits against manufacturers "prevents cities from being able to seek justice on behalf of their citizens."" "Our new Attorney General Marc Dann, who, like Strickland, is a Democrat, said he would "vigorously" defend the governor's veto." The PD article highlights the fact that the Republican lawmakers who were responsible for the corrupt SB117 are acting as lawyers and judges now, and that they plan to waste Ohio taxpayer money fighting our Governor... " State Sen. Tim Grendell, a Chester Township Republican who voted for the bill, also said the veto is void because the governor acted outside his authority. He said members of the legislature and trade groups were likely to sue over the veto." Go for it... concerned citizens are certain to defend Governor Strcikland, and those legislators who think they can keep acting corruptly under our new leadership will quickly be eliminated from office, as suggested in a previous article on SB117 by Plain Dealer columnist Sheryl Harris, which provides "a list of the Northeast Ohio legislators who voted to curtail your consumer rights". In the new Ohio, such corruption will not be tolerated. Read more about the veto below. News out of Ohio pasted below...puts to rest the loop about lead paint damage Stuart Katzenberg Monday, January 08, 2007 Strickland vetoes consumer law change Gov. Ted Strickland today vetoed a bill that would have limited the The same bill contained limits on the ability of cities and others to Because Taft didn't either sign or veto, the 10-day clock continued to As The Plain Dealer reported last week: By declining to pick up his pen, Gov. Bob Taft has ushered into law The same legislation prevents cities and others from using Taft said Friday that he favored narrowing the legal tactics that The Plain Dealer's Sheryl Harris has written extensively about the In a single vote, [the Ohio legislature] dulled the impact of the They arbitrarily limited awards for noneconomic damages to $5,000. Simply put, they voted to protect businesses that cheat consumers Spurred on by the car dealer lobby, these legislators acted without Without asking for testimony. Without allowing even one consumer to speak out. From the governor's veto message: Amended Substitute Senate Bill 117 greatly weakens current While weakening protections for consumers, at the same time the I will not allow this legislation in its current form, which Attorney General Marc Dann issued this statement: "Among the last things I did as state senator was, first, to vote "I commend Gov. Strickland for taking this action on behalf of the Senate Bill 17 was sent to Gov. Taft on Dec. 27, 2006. Pursuant to Kim Fuelling TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
( categories:
|
Recent commentsPopular contentToday's:All time:Last viewed:
|
SWEAR ME IN AT MIDNIGHT
This was a very cool move on the part of Strickland's team. It doesn't look like it was Strickland's original idea, or he would have vetoed it on Sunday in the wee hours of the morning after his swearing in. But it shows there is someone on his team that is thinking on their feet.
The fact that the legislation was ever passed shows again that we are living in a "biznocracy", where only the non-voting lobby industry is the client and the citizen voters get the shaft.
Imagine life in an intelligent, honest world
One thing about the past year and the new beginnings in government, resulting from the November 2006 elections, that really stands out in my mind as most significant to the future of Ohio, America and the world is that corruption in government is backfiring on the corrupt. The main reason Bush has lost his support, and the Republicans have lost their control, and industry is being held accountable, is that people are sick and tired of the abuse and inefficiency of corruption. What has really enabled the fall of corruption is the Internet, which connects people together to share information and to educate and be educated - we no longer depend on newspapers and TV to inform us and we no longer allow politicians to disconnect from public dialog - the public drives public dialog. The most astounding recent example of corruption backfiring on the corrupt is with SB117, where Ohio Republican legislators attempted to do their usual corrupt dealmaking with businesses and public outcry drove the exact opposite outcomes to what the corrupt wanted. In this case, because of the corrupt SB117, three additional cities immediately filed lawsuits against the greatest beneficiary of SB117 - Sherwin-Williams - significantly worsening their position to fight lead public nuisance lawsuits in Ohio... prior to the passage of SB117, those cities had planned to try and negotiate with Sherwin-Williams. Now, Strickland has vetoed SB117, so the Legislative corruption for Sherwin-Williams failed even as the litigation challenges Sherwin-Williams remain escalated. This is beautiful justice in action, and it is my expectation all such corruption will lead to similar bad outcomes for the corrupt in the future, culminating in the extraction of the corrupt through serious public inquiry and future elections... good bye to those legislators who continue to associate themselves with corrupt dealings and practices.
Disrupt IT
Wow is this a great new era for NEO
There are so many great indicators for the future of this region resulting from the November election that brought into offices Ted Strickland as Governor and elevated his wife Frances as a major community leader, and established Marc Dunn as Attorney General, and Jennifer Brunner as Secretary of State. They are shaking up Ohio government and the NEO world in so many ways, I don't think the local powers that be have a clue how to react. The perfect demonstarion of that is how the Plain Dealer is covering SB117. They are starting to realize they are not bigger than our governor, and lawful government. I'm sure floks at the Plain Dealer know something very big has just changed about Ohio, and they had better understand and represent it right or they will be crushed.
The PD is still playing its games trying to protect Sherwin-Williams and Jones Day over litigation in Ohio, but I sense they are weighing their balances... what is more valuable to a major newspaper?... an advertiser that must advertise there no matter what, because they need access to the local markets, or the Governor, who can include the media in communications about what actually matters in the state, or not... or turn on the PD. One thing I'm sure about is the PD can't influence Sherwin-Williams, Jones Day or the Governor. In the old days, the PD "publisher" was entrenched in community leadership initiatives and politics and he used the PD to support his personal intersts. But, with his replacement by Egger, we have a supposedly rational outsider at the helm and there is no longer the same potential of power brokering by the paper in the community (even though Egger is a Republican) - The PD is again becoming a newspaper.
How are they covering the new era for NEO? So far, iffy. Regarding SB117, they give their old corrupt Republican friends a few bones with an article in the Business section on the cost and business impact of corruption, downplaying that taxpayers may need to pay the toll of corruption in defending the Republicans in their defense of big business, in article "Officials counting to 10 because of veto dispute", but PD Editors celebrate Strickland in his veto of SB117, in the editorial "Strickland takes a stand", even while continuing their defense of Sherwin-Williams with the statement: " The protection afforded paint companies in SB 117 may have merit." On this matter, the PD editors have no business offering an opinion - they are biased and conflicted by revenues and political connection on this one.
What has been most interesting are the other Strickland related reports in the PD. One I appreciate in particular is coverage of Strickland's complete shake-up of ODOT, which has been a major factor on the corruption scene in NEO for many years... , and the Governor's wife's commitment to using local fashion designers to assemble her new wardrobe for her new position of influence. Read this article, as it is most revealing of the culture created by the new first family, which is very attractive... "First lady to showcase Ohio-designed outfits". My expectation is that the core PD journalists will love Strickland and the new good government in Ohio, and their editors and publisher will soon gush, becuse he is going to do a great job and even editors and publishers are human, and will appreciate greatness.
Disrupt IT
Good analysis of SB117 Veto
In the Plain Dealer today there was a good analysis of the Strickland veto of SB117, which goes more deeply into the thinking and effort behind the decision - "Power shifts, and a fast-track bill is derailed"- excellent reporting by Sheryl Harris!
Disrupt IT